Nearly 12,000 engineering teachers in Tamil Nadu lose jobs due to new education rule
In Tamil Nadu, however, 40% of engineering students are considered unemployable because of the poor standard of training received. The state has more than 550 engineering colleges with around 10 lakh students.
- Jun 27, 2018,
- Updated Jun 27, 2018 4:43 PM IST
Nearly 12,000 teachers who were teaching in engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu have lost their jobs as All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) altered the teacher-student ratio from 1:15 to 1:20. Many of the teachers who were sacked had experience of around 10 years with a salary package of Rs 40,000 per month. Many of them have tried moving to IT companies but were disappointed to learn that their over-qualification led to rejection.
In Tamil Nadu, however, 40% of engineering students are considered unemployable because of the poor standard of training received. The state has more than 550 engineering colleges with around 10 lakh students.
According to a report in Times of India, many colleges are exploiting the situation by asking older teachers to leave and recruiting teachers who are ready to work at a lesser pay.
A senior official from the state higher education department said that the number of students enrolling has also come down. Last year, of the 2.73 lakh seats for new students, 1.2 lakh went vacant. Even official data shows that around 50% of engineering seats in the country went vacant in 2016-17. Out of 15.5 lakh Bachelor of Engineering (BE) and Bachelor of Technology (BTech) seats in 3,291 engineering colleges across the country, over half remained vacant. In 2015-16, too, half of 14.76 lakh engineering seats had no takers. In Tamil Nadu, 30% of engineering colleges have two-thirds of their seats vacant.
This is not welcome news for teachers who are already being pushed out of the workforce.
"Contrary to arts and science teachers who handle classes for more than 20 hours a week, most of the teaching staff in engineering colleges, particularly heads of departments, work for less than eight hours a week. Salaries of teachers account for 70 % of our total expenses. Without enough number of students, why should we have excess teachers in place?" said P Selvaraj, Secretary of Consortium of Self-Financing Professional, Arts and Science Colleges, according to the report.Nearly 12,000 teachers who were teaching in engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu have lost their jobs as All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) altered the teacher-student ratio from 1:15 to 1:20. Many of the teachers who were sacked had experience of around 10 years with a salary package of Rs 40,000 per month. Many of them have tried moving to IT companies but were disappointed to learn that their over-qualification led to rejection.
In Tamil Nadu, however, 40% of engineering students are considered unemployable because of the poor standard of training received. The state has more than 550 engineering colleges with around 10 lakh students.
According to a report in Times of India, many colleges are exploiting the situation by asking older teachers to leave and recruiting teachers who are ready to work at a lesser pay.
A senior official from the state higher education department said that the number of students enrolling has also come down. Last year, of the 2.73 lakh seats for new students, 1.2 lakh went vacant. Even official data shows that around 50% of engineering seats in the country went vacant in 2016-17. Out of 15.5 lakh Bachelor of Engineering (BE) and Bachelor of Technology (BTech) seats in 3,291 engineering colleges across the country, over half remained vacant. In 2015-16, too, half of 14.76 lakh engineering seats had no takers. In Tamil Nadu, 30% of engineering colleges have two-thirds of their seats vacant.
This is not welcome news for teachers who are already being pushed out of the workforce.
"Contrary to arts and science teachers who handle classes for more than 20 hours a week, most of the teaching staff in engineering colleges, particularly heads of departments, work for less than eight hours a week. Salaries of teachers account for 70 % of our total expenses. Without enough number of students, why should we have excess teachers in place?" said P Selvaraj, Secretary of Consortium of Self-Financing Professional, Arts and Science Colleges, according to the report.