Kerala 2005 - of Planning Commission

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chemical engineering, architecture, industrial engineering,
production engineering, automobile engineering, etc. In
addition, there was post-graduate education in engineering
and MCA courses.
4.2.4 Diploma and Certificate-Level Education
Technical education at the diploma level, which had
undergone a quantitative transformation over the last halfcentury,
has been in a subservient position to graduate
education. A diploma is resorted to either because of
the failure to get access to a degree programme or due
to financial constraints. Hence, the demand for diploma
seats has come down considerably, creating an imbalance
in the supply of technically qualified personnel in the
intermediate range
There are now over 50 polytechnics in Kerala, which impart
technical education at the diploma level, mostly in the
Government sector, with a few self-financing institutions. 9
The total intake at the diploma level is of 10,955 students,
of which 1,575 students are inducted by the self-financing
sector. It may be mentioned that some courses, like hotel
management and catering technology are offered almost
exclusively on a self-financing basis.
About 37 per cent of the students enrolled in the polytechnics
are girls. The proportion of girls in engineering colleges is
also roughly at the same level. However, it is interesting
to note that a wide variation in sex ratio exists in different
streams (discussed in Chapter 7).
Besides the polytechnics, there are almost 450 ITIs/ ITCs
(industrial training institutes, owned by the Government,
and industrial training centres which are privately owned)
imparting craft/technical training to class X pass and fail
students, as also those with a plus two level of education
for superior trades like computer and DTP courses. Their
total seat strength is about 57,000, more than three-fourths
being in ITCs and the intake is largely for one- and two-year
certificate courses. However, their numbers have been
declining over time and the drop-out rate is also high primarily
due to the slow conversion of obsolete/unpopular trades
into new trades, responding to the changing technology
and requirements of the market. Some attempts were made
to introduce job-oriented trades and modernising the ITIs
under a World Bank-aided skill development project in
the late 1980s but modern trades need modern equipment
and qualified teachers, and hence the process is very tardy.
Nonetheless, the heavy concentration of matriculates
(10 standard) among the educated unemployed – there are
almost 100,000 unemployed certificate holders – without
any skill acquisition is at the core of the unemployment
problem, which has to be addressed and given serious
attention. The problem is not only one of mismatch but
also quality.
5. Demand for
Higher Technical Education
5.1 Defining the Domain
Assessing the demand for higher technical education
is an extremely difficult task. Is it the demand for seats
or the demand for graduates? The two are not always
related. There were 9,246 unemployed engineering
graduates, 41,628 diploma holders and 133,000
certificate holders registered in the professional
employment exchange of Kerala, in 2003. Anecdotal
evidence abounds about engineering graduates
working as clerks, conductors and casual labour for a
paltry remuneration. Some are happily employed, but
in professions that have no relation to their expensive
and exacting education. Many women engineers give
up their career after marriage. There are thousands of
unemployed electronics/computer/IT graduates queuing
up, when a handful of jobs are advertised in reputed
public sector undertakings.
Information technology and related industries are the major
source of demand for engineering graduates and diploma
holders. However, IT companies recruit from all branches,
making their choice for keen analytical and verbal skills over
9 These are managed by IHRD and run as ‘Model Polytechnics’.