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Even as engineering graduates grapple with lower job opportunities, the demand and consequently the number of computer science engineering seats continue to rank high, raising questions around the employability of this pool and leading States to mull intervention.
As authorities in Karnataka recently mooted the need to cap the number of seats in the computer science stream, officials in Tamil Nadu and Telangana also acknowledge the need to have a serious dialogue with colleges and sensitise students on looking beyond computer science courses. Experts, however, note that states may not be able to mandate this since it is governed by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and market forces will sooner or later correct this.
In case of Karnataka, while a formal cap on computer science seats has not yet been implemented, the proposal remains under consideration.
A senior education department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told businessline that CS seat capacity has nearly doubled in four years — from 20,812 in 2020 to 38,178 last year, with 7,785 new seats added in 2024 alone. “The slowdown in tech hiring has reduced demand, which is why a cap on CS seats, or even a partial rollback, is being considered to prevent oversupply,” the official said. “Even with the hiring slowdown, CS, ECE and information science continue to be the most sought-after streams and record the lowest vacancy levels compared to others,” the official added.
Overall, Karnataka has 245 engineering colleges with a combined intake of about 1.51 lakh seats, including 38,178 in computer science, 20,208 in electronics and communication engineering, 9,108 in information science, and 8,960 in mechanical engineering. Of these, 71,303 seats fall under the government quota, with the remainder filled through Comed-K, the consortium of private engineering colleges.
A State official in Tamil Nadu said that ideally the number of seats should be decided by market forces but given the “herd mentality” of flocking to computer science engineering, sometimes the realisation hits too late. “At best we can convene a meeting and advice colleges to distribute seats across streams and not go on increasing computer science seats,” the official added.
Experts estimate that Tamil Nadu has over 3 lakh engineering seats with almost 18-20 per cent of this in computer science streams. The top deemed universities alone hold about 10,000-15,000 computer science seats themselves. The rapid advancements in AI, coupled with recent layoffs should act as a warning call for current and future entry-level jobs in tech, they add.
On its part, Telangana is planning to discourage students from joining CSC and allied streams, given the slack in demand from companies. “We held a meeting with over 800 parents on this issue. I told them there is a huge oversupply of CSC candidates and there are no takers in the industry. I told them it is time they join their wards in other engineering disciplines,” Prof (Dr) V Balakista Reddy, Chairman of the Telangana Higher Education Council (TGCHE), said. He hinted that the government might even scrap scholarships for those joining CSC and allied branches. It it to be noted that Telangana reimburses the fees collected from SC/ST (full reimbursement) and BC, economically backward, and differently abled students.
Telangana has about 170 engineering colleges including 148 in the private sector, with an aggregate seat of over 1.10 lakh. More than half are in Computer Science and allied (AI, ML, Cybersecurity, etc). Out of this, only about 15-20 top colleges attract companies during placement seasons leaving the majority unemployed.
K. Ramachandran, Educationist, noted that practically, it is difficult for states to take a stance on this, because if the approval is granted by AICTE based on existing norms, then colleges could challenge proceedings.
“The problem is that seats setting is based on infrastructure such as number of faculty, computers, and other parameters rather than the job market for the streams. The best forum available to the State is to discuss this with college heads in the academic senate of Anna University, and with the Association of Private self financing engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu,” he said.
Career consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi believes there is a lack of coordination among AICTE, universities, and corporations. “State Governments and relevant universities should implement appropriate measures to curb the substantial growth in specific fields of study. We previously encountered a similar situation years ago when numerous engineering institutions disproportionately expanded their mechanical engineering programs,” he said.
For the past two years, the influx of computer science engineering graduates has been higher, and approximately 70 per cent of future graduates will be from computer science and related disciplines, while the number of available positions in core engineering fields is significantly lower, Gandhi noted.
An official at a large private deemed university based in Tamil Nadu noted that while there is some strain in placements in the last couple of years, the demand side has seen no slowing down with students continuing to mention computer science as first preference.
“Computer Science seats, including in AI/ML/Data Science streams, continue to be in high demand even though the placements are not happening big time. On the other hand, the core groups (Civil and Mechanical) are registering sizeable placements. A good number of our core groups (in a total of 120) placements,” a promoter of an engineering college in Hyderabad told businessline.
Prof. Jawahar Doreswamy, University Chancellor of PES University, said the intake at its RR Campus is 1,740 seats and 1,260 seats at its EC Campus, with 2,996 seats filled. “There are only four vacancies, largely due to delayed medical admissions. Demand continues to be strong, especially for Bengaluru-based institutions with consistent placement outcomes,” he said.
Published on December 25, 2025
