A shadow of its former self: Morbi’s LEC sees dwindling admission numbers

While the college authorities have brushed it off as part of a “general trend of preference for engineering dwindling across the country”, sources say there could be other factors affecting the enrolment such as inadequate hostel accommodation.

According to the information available, the intake and admissions in both degree and diploma programmes — administered separately since 2018 as a policy decision taken by the state government over the last 10 years — have reduced from 93 per cent to 65 per cent in degree and 74 per cent to 52 per cent in diploma programmes.

As per the data maintained by the centralised admission committees of the state government, the diploma course saw a significant drop in enrollment. In 2016-17, there were 1,440 seats across seven branches running in 26 batches, but in the 2025-26 academic session, only five branches remain with an intake of 339 students.

Despite the intake capacity reducing by over 76 per cent, the admission numbers have not shown any improvement; rather have registered a decline from 74 per cent to 52 per cent in the last 10 years, according to the data.

The admission numbers have dropped from 1,068 students in 2016-17 to 177 students in 2025-26.

Degree admissions 

“Following the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) norms, the seats were reduced across institutes in the state ,where there were no takers for three years,” Morbi Diploma College Principal P V Rayjada told The Indian Express.

Similarly, in degree programmes with the reduction in the intake of seats from 510 in 2016-17 to 338 in 2025-26 the admission has declined from 93 per cent to 65.6 per cent. The worst was in the year 2022-23 when Lukhdirji Engineering College (LEC) recorded the lowest admission of only 17 per cent. Out of 452 seats available, only 79 were taken.

This is when the government colleges-both degree and diploma-register over 90 per cent overall admissions over the same period of time.

Blaming it on the Information Technology ‘boom’ LEC Principal, Prof R K Mevada, told The Indian Express, “Though admissions have declined but compared to 2022-23, there has been an improvement in the last two years. It was due to the IT boom that the students did not opt for other streams. The IT branch at our college too was full that year.”

Mevada added, “The students from Saurashtra no longer prefer college in Morbi, instead they are opting for institutes in bigger cities such as Rajkot and Ahmedabad and even Surat.”

Morbi is located on the National Highway 8 on Bamanbor (Chotila)- Kandla route. It is 70 km from Rajkot district place and around 190 km from Ahmedabad.

“The Class 12 passouts from Jamnagar, Junagadh, Devbhoomi Dwarka and Kutch, said to be the catchment area for Morbi college, are not exploring options in Ahmedabad and Rajkot. Also, the hostel facility at the college is not adequate for the intake and looking at the limited facilities available in Morbi town such as accommodation and transport facilities, people prefer other cities. Also, the branches allotted to Morbi college have not been upgraded for a long time now,” an education official told The Indian Express.

However, LEC has now started taking measures to improve admissions.

“We have requested our alumni to share their experiences with their juniors and freshers. The alumni are reaching out to spread awareness about the institute and the employment opportunities it provides,” Prof Mevada added.

Tapping social media platforms

The college has recently started using the social media platforms actively to spread awareness. The chemical engineering branch has been running a YouTube channel since 2019-20 and it has been registering good admission, Prof Mevada said. Prof Mevada joined LEC with the chemical engineering department in 2018.

College history

In 1951, the erstwhile king Maharaja Thakore Lukhdhirji Waghji Sahib Bahadur of the princely state of Morbi donated his Nazarbaug palace, constructed on 40 acres on the banks of Machhu river, for Morbi Technical Institute (MTI). Renamed after him, it was later upgraded as an engineering college and as of now, is known as Lukhdhirji Engineering College while another two palaces became student accommodation and the principal’s private residence was retained by the Maharaja as his residence.

Initially LEC used to offer conventional degree and diploma courses in engineering such as civil, mechanical and electrical engineering. Gradually, they diversified and added disciplines such as industrial, power electronics and information technology, chemical engineering, applied mechanics ( introduced at degree level) and ceramic, metallurgy, electronics and communication (at diploma level). The institute is approved by AICTE and affiliated to Gujarat Technological University.

Diploma college

The Lukhdhirji Engineering College was established as a polytechnic in 1931, then known as Morvi Technical Institute (MTI) and was upgraded to a full-fledged degree engineering college in 1951 when Maharaja Thakore Lukhdhirji Waghji Sahib Bahadur donated his palace. The institute is operated by the Gujarat government and is affiliated with Gujarat Technological University.

The college is divided into two campuses which are further split up into a cluster of buildings . The academic area consists of various departmental buildings, the administration block, the students amenities building, a badminton court and swimming pool. Its hostel blocks cover 25 acres and can accommodate 1200 students.

Diploma admissions 

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