Most Popular UG Streams: Arts and Science Courses Take Lead
- Arts courses dominated the rankings with over 97.3 lakh students enrolled in 2016-17.
- Engineering courses are losing allure due to the poor placement opportunities and quality education.
With engineering courses losing allure, science courses in India have re-emerged as the second most popular UG (Under Graduate) stream. Continuing the trend, Arts courses bagged the first spot in the country. While 97.3 lakh students enrolled in B.A in 2016-17, over 47 lakh students joined B.Sc courses. As far as engineering stream concerned, over 41.6 lakh students chose the course in 2016-17. The official data in this regard was disclosed by Union Ministry of Human Resource Development.
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B.Sc courses in different branches such as pharma, electronics and computers are no more alternative options for the students. After class 12, many students are looking for science courses available in different domains. These students are not interested in choosing engineering courses due to poor placement opportunities. Over the years, arts and science courses are gaining momentum than engineering courses. It is often observed that engineering students are competing for the same job as a B.Com or a B.A graduate.
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The scenario in 2014-15 was completely different. Engineering emerged as the second most popular course in India since IT sector dominated the campus recruitment process. On the other hand, commerce courses stood at the 4th spot.
Quality of engineering education in the country is a major problem to resolve. The number of engineering seats in India is higher than the existing demand from the students. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) decided to shut down 800 technical institutes due to poor enrolment. On the other hand, AICTE has come up with various reforms to revamp engineering education in the country.