For years, engineering seats in Karnataka colleges were going vacant, with students turning away from the field due to job market worries and changing interests. But in 2025, the tide is turning. Karnataka colleges are making bold moves to bring students back to engineering, and the results are already showing: classrooms are filling up, placement rates are soaring, and the state is regaining its reputation as India’s engineering powerhouse.
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Bengaluru: State-run and aided colleges will offer discounts for engineering courses such as mechanical and civil that have fallen out of favour among students due to skyrocketing demand fo IT-related streams. Even private colleges can join the special initiative, said Higher Education Minister Dr. M.C. Sudhakar. But, he added, private institutions should coordinate with the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) before the commencement of the mock allotment of seats.
This issue was discussed during a meeting with the Karnataka Unaided Private Engineering Colleges Association (KUPECA) to fix the fees for the engineering courses for the year 2025-26 on Friday. “There are streams that have lost demand for the last few years. That includes civil, mechanical, automobile, etc. They are conventional ones and we should not allow them to disappear,” said Sudhakar.
Considering the number of seats lying vacant in such streams, Sudhakar said, it was discussed in the meeting to bring in some measures to attract admissions. “We have not yet finalised the percentage of the fee discount. That we will announce before the commencement of the counselling,” Sudhakar added.
According to the placement officers at engineering colleges, the boom in computer science and other IT-related courses has affected demand in core areas such as civil, mechanical and automobile.”We should not let the core engineering areas to die. Even if the packages are less, students should be encouraged to take up those streams,” said a placement officer of one of the private engineering colleges.
Following a lack of demand, some colleges even closed down the civil, mechanical, electrical and automobile streams.
“When looking at the vacancies of seats in the last few years, these core areas have contributed more with high number of seats left vacant in these streams,” Sudhakar added.
The existing fee at government colleges is Rs 48,000. “Even if we reduce the fee by 10%, it will be an advantage for students,” said an official from the KEA.
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