IITs Face Major Job Placement Crisis
Students at IIT campuses are facing unprecedented job placement challenges.
Photo Caption: Students at IIT campuses are facing unprecedented job placement challenges.
The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), known for their top-notch engineering programs, are facing a severe job placement crisis.
Recent data from RTI applications, filed by IIT Kanpur alumnus Dheeraj Singh, reveals that around 8,000 (38%) IIT graduates across 23 campuses have not secured jobs this year.
In 2024, out of 21,500 students registered for placements, only 13,410 found jobs, leaving 38% still unemployed. This is a big jump from two years ago when 3,400 (19%) students were unplaced.
The older nine IITs are hit hard, with 16,400 students registered this year, and 6,050 (37%) still jobless. The newer 14 IITs are worse off, with 2,040 (40%) of 5,100 students unplaced.
An IIT Kanpur graduate, shared these worrying statistics on LinkedIn. “33% of students in IIT Kharagpur did not find jobs through placements last year. Unplaced students are dealing with stress, anxiety, and hopelessness due to poor job placement scenarios,” he wrote.
IIT Delhi has also been struggling, with 22% of its students unplaced over the last five years and 40% still jobless in 2024. “As per the RTI reply, 600 students were unplaced in IIT Delhi in the last two years,” Mr Singh noted.
The data shows a concerning trend: from 2022 to 2024, registered students at the older IITs increased by 1.2 times, while unplaced students grew by 2.1 times. At the newer IITs, registered students rose by 1.3 times, but unplaced students surged by 3.8 times.
This crisis is affecting students’ mental health. Six IIT students have died by suicide this year, highlighting the severe stress and anxiety they face.
“The doubling of unplaced students points to a precarious state of affairs in the best engineering colleges of the country. Around 61% of the postgraduates are still unplaced. This is an unprecedented job crisis our premier colleges and our young graduates are facing,” Mr Singh emphasized.
As IITs continue to face these challenges, finding solutions for the job placement crisis is crucial.
