AICTE data: BTech seats fill fast as computer science drives enrolment to eight-year high

“While Computer Science and allied programmes have emerged as top choices due to the surge in tech-sector jobs, core engineering branches remain critical and continue to draw large numbers of students,” the AICTE said in response to questions by The Indian Express.

The surge in BTech enrolment comes as the approved intake — the total number of seats available — increased to 14.90 lakh in the 2024-25 session (August to May), the highest in eight years.

As reported by The Indian Express in October last year, this was a result of the AICTE lifting with effect from the 2024-25 session a cap it had imposed on the number of seats in engineering colleges. The restriction meant an institute could take a maximum of 360 students and apply for an increase in intake only if they had valid accreditation for a programme.

While the approved intake fell steadily from 2017-18 to 2021-22, mainly due to a slump in demand and government-mandated limits, it had been on the upswing ever since. As was enrolment, which hit a low of 7.22 lakh in 2018-19, too, began to record a rise from 2021-22 onwards (see box).

AICTE, in response to a question about the spike in enrolment, pointed to “curriculum revamp and flexibility,” along with “new-age programmes in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Robotics, Cybersecurity, Space Technology and Green Energy,” having “significantly enhanced the appeal of engineering courses.”

Former AICTE member secretary Rajive Kumar, whose term ended in June, also attributed the increase in enrolment to a modified curriculum. He said, “Curriculum has been modified and new technology has been integrate… AI, data science, AR/VR has been added to all courses, whether it is core engineering or other branches.”

However, both Kumar and former AICTE Chairman S S Mantha urged caution.

“We would also have to be cautious…as more students take admission now, placements will depend on the job scenario three-four years from now,” Kumar said.

Mantha said: “We will have to look at what will happen four years from now. The numbers have gone up mostly in the computer science-related fields. There is a perception that a computer science degree will fetch reasonable employment. Institutions have started programmes in computer science. But we don’t know what the life cycle of computer science (courses) and AI is. It keeps transforming tremendously. The aspirational values are taken care of by increasing the number of seats, but employment opportunities may not rise at that level.”

Some states, too, have exercised caution and sought to prevent further increase in computer science engineering (CSE) seats.

Telangana, for instance, rejected requests from a few institutions for an increase in CSE intake for the 2024-25 session. When the institutions challenged the matter in the Telangana High Court, the State pointed to vacancies and said there was no need for an increase in CSE seats. The state also told the court that to balance intake in conventional and emerging courses, it has decided not to allow additional intake in colleges that were earlier allowed an increase. Upholding the state’s decision, the HC dismissed the petitions in May this year.

Karnataka was considering a similar move earlier this year, with the State’s Higher Education Minister Dr. M C Sudhakar citing instances of colleges in Karnataka indiscriminately increasing computer science seats, sometimes by converting civil and mechanical engineering seats into CSE seats.

Meanwhile, the approved intake for 2025-26 is 15.98 lakh, a 7% increase compared to the previous academic session.

The AICTE data shows that for the first time in six years, the number of AICTE-approved institutions for engineering courses, which fell year-on-year from 2020-21 onwards, has also seen an increase. For 2025-26, the number of such institutions is 5,875 — it was 6,062 in 2020-21 and had fallen to a low of 5,845 institutions in 2024-25.

On the uptick in institutions, AICTE pointed to a “resurgence in demand… particularly in cutting-edge fields such as AI, machine learning, renewable energy, robotics, cybersecurity, space technology, and semiconductors.”