Engineering, as a career prospect, losing its sheen in Tamil Nadu, say experts

Engineering as a career choice seems to be losing its allure among students in Tamil Nadu, according to experts. This is suggested by the declining trend in student intake for the 2026 engineering admissions, compared to the previous year. Jayaprakash Gandhi, a seasoned career guidance counsellor, highlights a marked drop in demand for engineering colleges, particularly in rural areas.

According to Mr. Gandhi, only 112 colleges filled more than 90% of their seats this year, down from 164 last year. Over a hundred of these colleges are located in urban areas, indicating a potential decline in rural institutions. R. Ashwin, a career guidance counsellor, corroborates this, stating that only 30 colleges managed to fill all their seats this year, compared to 39 last year.

The total student intake after the three rounds of counselling was four percentage points lower than the previous year. In fact, over a dozen colleges did not even reach double-digit student intake. Two colleges opted out of the counselling process after the first round due to low student interest, while two others failed to admit any students from the general category. However, these colleges had full seats reserved for the 7.5% horizontal reservation category.

Mr. Gandhi's concern is underscored by the fact that around 150 institutions were unable to fill more than 50% of their seats through counselling, potentially facing significant operational and financial challenges. Additionally, the economic climate has deterred students from opting for engineering courses, with a significant shift towards government institutions due to their perceived lower costs and higher trust levels.

Despite this, Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) and Electronics and Communications Engineering (ECE) remained the most sought-after courses, with a slight increase in preference for other core engineering streams like Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE) and Mechanical Engineering (ME). Interestingly, more students with higher cut-off marks preferred ECE this year, according to Mr. Ashwin.