DTU Discontinues One-third of its M.Tech programmes due to "Poor Admissions"

New Delhi: Delhi Technological University (DTU), formerly known as the Delhi College of Engineering, has "Discontinues" one-third of its M.Tech programmes for the academic year 2022–2023 due to "less number of admissions."

According to the latest reports, a minimum of 10 out of the 26 M.Tech programmes offered by DTU will not be taught this year as only one-half of the authorized seats in the 10 programmes were filled.

The 10 programmes that collectively offered about 250 seats are M.Tech in Bioinformatics; Industrial Biotechnology; Hydraulics & Water Resources Engineering; Geoinformatics; Geotechnical Engineering; Microwave and Optical Commu-nication Engineering; Control and Instrumentation; Power System; Production Engineering; Thermal Engineering.

There are two programmes from the department of biotechnology, three from the department of civil engineering, two from the department of electrical engineering, two from the department of mechanical engineering, and one from the department of electronics and communication engineering.

The latest reports suggest that the students who have already obtained admission to the aforementioned suspended programmes will be given the option of switching to another programme, provided that they meet the necessary eligibility requirements and the availability of seats in the relevant M.Tech branch.

The institute has said that it will refund any deposited fee in the event that the vacant seats are not available in the specified branch.

DTU is a public university and is one of the top engineering schools in the country. It ranked 35 nationally in the latest edition of the National Institute Ranking Framework

There has been a persistent problem with open M.Tech seats at engineering colleges, however, reputable institutions have mostly been spared.

For instance, about a quarter of the M.Tech. seats are unfilled at the IITs , primarily as a result of students quitting the programme in the middle after landing a job with a public sector unit (PSU). But, an IIT has never "suspended" a programme due to dropouts or vacant seats.

However, the vacancy issues appear to be worse at DTU. So much so that the institute approved a policy decision in May of this year's Academic Council meeting that an engineering branch will continue to exist if admissions to any M.Tech programme are less than one-third of the total seats granted by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

The previous year’s admission brochure had stated that the institute reserves the right to terminate or suspend a specific programme in case a sufficient number of students are not admitted to it. A standing committee, to look into this year’s M.Tech admissions, had recommended this one-third formula, which was approved by the Academic Council

As per the admissions brochure from the previous year, the institute retains the right to stop or suspend a particular programme if a sufficient number of applicants are not accepted.

This one-third formula was suggested by a standing committee to examine this year's M.Tech admissions, and the Academic Council approved it.

Speaking about the same, DTU’s acting Vice-Chancellor J P Saini said that the institute had previously closed M.Tech courses when it had low enrollment, but this year the institute has finalised a policy whereby it will only close courses with fewer than one-third enrollment.

The majority of students enrol in computer science and information technology programmes, which have a 100% acceptance rate. However, some postgraduate admissions in fields like mechanical, civil, electrical, and biotechnology are a result of the decline in the number of students enrolling in undergraduate courses in these fields, he said.

He concluded by saying that the engineering institute will be looking at renaming and refashioning these courses in the direction of Computer Sciences and Machine Learning in order to draw more admissions and that the private institutes have already shut down UG courses in these areas, leaving them only in government colleges.

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