Students aren’t quitting engineering, the system is failing them in Odisha!

Odisha’s sharp decline in engineering enrollment is often framed as a lack of interest among students. However, data on employment outcomes, faculty shortages and institutional gaps suggests a different reality.

For many aspirants, the decision to step away from engineering is no longer emotional or impulsive. It is now believed that the students are responding rationally to a system that has allegedly failed to match education with opportunity.

When an Engineering Degree Doesn’t Lead to a Job

Official employment figures reveal the scale of challenges engineering graduates in the state are facing. Over the last decade, only about half of Odisha’s engineering graduates have managed to secure jobs. Out of 34,471 graduates, just 15,289 found employment, leaving 19,182 without jobs after completing their degrees.

The situation is even more concerning for diploma holders, where only 20,096 out of 54,189 candidates were employed, while 34,051 remained jobless. These numbers underline why this technical course, once seen as a reliable pathway to stable employment, is now viewed with growing caution by students and parents alike.

Admission data from the 2024-25 OJEE counselling mirrors these employment realities. About 66% of B.Tech seats remained vacant even after four rounds of counselling. Of the 44,484 available seats, only 15,342 were filled across nine government and 75 private engineering colleges.

Private institutions were hit the hardest, with over 74% of seats lying vacant, indicating that students are actively avoiding programmes perceived to offer weak placement outcomes. While government engineering colleges performed better, the overall picture reflects a system struggling to retain student trust.

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Faculty Shortages Undermine Teaching Quality

Beyond jobs, the quality of education itself has emerged as a major concern. A CAG audit has flagged severe faculty shortages in government engineering colleges, polytechnics and ITIs across Odisha.

The audit found that no faculty recruitment took place between 2019 and January 2025, resulting in a 47% vacancy in sanctioned teaching posts. Senior academic positions were most affected, with 73% of professor posts and 62% of associate professor posts lying vacant. Assistant professor vacancies stood at 38%.

As a result, some colleges reported teacher-student ratios as high as 1:81, far exceeding the AICTE-mandated 1:20 norm. Such imbalances raise serious questions about classroom engagement, mentoring, and the overall learning experience.

Infrastructure Gaps Add to Student Concerns

The CAG report also pointed to inadequate laboratories, outdated equipment, and underutilised funds in several government engineering colleges. 

In institutions like the Government College of Engineering, Keonjhar, key departments lacked full laboratory facilities, further limiting hands-on training essential for employability. Surprisingly, the institute failed to utilise Rs 3.41 crore of the Rs 4 crore granted in 2020-21 for the development of the labs.

Non-teaching staff shortages were equally stark, as the CAG draft report underlined that 185 out of 291 sanctioned posts are vacant in these engineering institutions.

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Students Are Making Informed Choices

Together, ‘weak employment outcomes and declining academic capacity’ explain why students are stepping back from engineering programmes. This is not a withdrawal driven by apathy or lack of ambition, but by clear signals from the system itself- rising costs, uncertain jobs, and compromised teaching quality.

Students are not quitting engineering arbitrarily; rather, they are choosing alternatives that appear to offer better returns on time and investment.

Sushanta Dafadar, an alumnus of Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), said limited job opportunities and unresolved faculty issues have been long-standing problems in Odisha’s education system. He said students continue to suffer due to the lack of adequate teaching support and shrinking employment avenues.

“I worked with some good companies after graduating, but over time the options kept reducing for various reasons,” he said, adding that he eventually chose entrepreneurship. Dafadar said he is now earning four to five times more than what he earned as annual pay during his corporate career.

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The data points to an urgent need for systemic reform, from improving faculty recruitment and infrastructure to strengthening industry linkages and placement mechanisms. Without addressing these foundational issues, Odisha’s engineering education ecosystem risks further erosion.

The message is quite clear- restore jobs, restore quality, and enrollment will follow.