After Taking On Unwarranted Excesses In Legal Education, Justice Kirubakaran Of Madras HC Now Picks On Mushrooming Of Engg Colleges [Read Order]

After taking on the excesses in legal education, Justice N Kirubarakan of Madras High Court has taken suo motu note of increasing number of engineering colleges across the country and rising unemployment among engineering graduates with searching queries on scheme to employ them and if it is true that most of them lack employability skills.

Justice Kirubakaran asked the Centre if there is any scheme to provide any alternate skill to unemployed engineering graduates.

The issue caught the court's attention during hearing in a writ petition seeking proper implementation of the Tamil Nadu State Level Placement Programme wherein campus interviews are conducted in all engineering colleges to provide equal opportunities to all meritorious students.

The petitioner's daughter is a student of one of the affiliated engineering colleges situated in Karur district. Though there are 532 engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu, the companies are conducting campus interviews in selected engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu and there is no mechanism available with regard to the campus interviews conducted by private respondents.

The petitioner said though Centre for University Industry Collaboration, Anna University, a respondent in the case, created the programme namely Tamil Nadu State Level Placement Programme with the object of creating placement for students of all government-aided colleges and affiliated colleges under the Anna University, the private companies conduct campus interviews in select colleges and recruit minimum number of students.

Any scheme for unemployed Engg graduates?

"It is a fact that many engineering colleges have been opened without any manpower policy and the effect of producing more engineering graduates causes unemployment and other social problems. It is reported that more than 660 engineering colleges are in existence in Tamil Nadu as well as Maharashtra and lakhs of seats are going vacant in engineering colleges. The aforesaid position is due to lack of a policy on the part of the Government as well as AICTE (All-India Council for Technical Education) and other connected stakeholders,” the court said.

Observing that the petition involves larger issue of opening of more engineering colleges and production of more number of engineering graduates, resulting in unemployment, Justice Kirubakaran suo motu impleaded the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development as a necessary party.

Rabu Manohar, senior Central Government standing counsel, accepted notice on behalf of the HRD ministry.

The court then directed it to answer: "Whether there is any scheme available with the department to deal with unemployment problem of the engineering graduates in our country and if it is so, what is the scheme?

On lines of plugging holes on legal education

The order comes close to Justice Kirubakaran taking note of excesses in legal education while hearing the plea of second year MBBS students of a medical college.

The court had then taken note of increasing number of "letter pad law colleges" and production of law graduates overshooting the demand of lawyers in society.

Justice Kirubakaran had blamed Bar Council of India for increasing number of unemployed lawyers taking to unlawful activities for livelihood.

The case is pending hearing.

Meanwhile, in the instant case, Justice Kirubakaran has placed some queries before the AICTE.

Some pressing queries for AICTE

On the other hand, the All-India Council for Technical Education has been posed with following court queries:

1. How many engineering colleges are in existence in India? [State-wise details have to be given for the past 10 years]


2. How many students are admitted in the engineering colleges every year? [State-wise and year-wise details for the past 10 years to be given]


3. How many students have successfully completed the engineering course every year?


4. Whether AICTE is aware that more engineering graduates are unemployed resulting in acute unemployment problem in our country?


5. How many engineering graduates are actually required in India?


6. How many engineering graduates are without employment?


7. How many engineering graduates have registered with employment exchanges in each State?


8. If the number of engineering colleges exceeds the requirement, whether is there any plan to close down the surplus institutions?


9. Is there any manpower policy adopted by AICTE before granting approval for the engineering colleges, based on the demand and supply principle?


10. Is it a fact that most of the engineering graduates are lacking employability skills?


11. In view of the lack of employability skills of the engineering graduates, whether the respondent have got any plan to equip those candidates with new skills by providing any training or apprenticeship?


12. What is the percentage of employability of the engineering graduates?