Scenario of Technical Education:A Sweet and Sour Story in Maharashtra

Technical education plays a very significant role in the overall economic development of our country by providing qualified, skilled and trained man power to various sectors to quench their thirst for optimal utilization of underlying resources and for achieving the desired goals. In India, technical education has witnessed exponential growth over the years with the establishment of several Universities including Private Universities, Autonomous institutions, Private institutions etc. Among other states in the country, Maharashtra is well known state where enormous institutions are set up to impart quality technical education to meet the market demand for qualified, skilled and trained man power since the state has become a hub for India Inc and Multinational Companies.

This paper analyses the present scenario of technical education. The main objective of this paper is to assess the scenario of technical education in India and Maharashtra and to briefly discuss the roles played by various regulators of technical education. One of the hypotheses is that admissions in technical educational institutions in Maharashtra have plunged during the study period. This is an analytical study based on the secondary data which is analyzed with the help of percentages and the hypotheses are tested with the help of Chi-square test at 1% level of significance. The linear trend line-the least square method is also employed to project the trends in admissions and vacant seats from the academic year 2015-16 to 2019-20. The results of the study reveal that number of and intake capacity in institutions in India have been increased from the academic year 2006-07 to 2012-13. On the other hand, the same trend also continued in Maharashtra but the admissions have plunged from the academic year 2005-06 to 2014-15. The projected admissions and vacant seats will be 29.33% and 70.67% respectively of the intake capacity in Maharashtra during the next five academic years. To conclude, the admissions in technical educational institutions in Maharashtra have plunged during the study period and will further move downwardly in the next five years. Hence, it is suggested that institutions shall not be permitted to increase their intake capacity till they ensure 100% admissions out of their sanctioned intake capacity during the next three consecutive academic years.