Chennai: Despite increased interest in engineering courses this year, around 1.27 lakh seats remain vacant in technical education programs, including engineering and polytechnic courses in Tamil Nadu.

The Higher Education Department has directed teachers to identify students who have not enrolled in any college and encourage them to join.

In the current academic year, 1,90,624 B.E./B.Tech. seats were available across 423 engineering colleges affiliated to Anna University. Admission counselling began on July 7 and concluded recently.

Of these, 1,54,178 seats have been filled, leaving 36,446 seats vacant. Officials note that engineering admissions have improved compared to previous years, driven by growing demand for fields such as information technology, artificial intelligence, and data science.

Polytechnic admissions, however, remain a major concern. Among 55 government polytechnic colleges offering 20,635 diploma seats, only 13,020 seats have been filled. In 34 government-aided colleges, just 7,700 of 14,070 seats are occupied. Private polytechnics fare worse, with only 27,500 admissions out of 1,05,500 seats.

Overall, only 48,220 out of 1,39,705 diploma seats have been filled, leaving 91,485 vacancies. Experts attribute this decline to students' preference for degree programs and shrinking job opportunities for diploma holders.

Combining both categories, Tamil Nadu currently faces 1,27,931 unfilled seats in technical and vocational courses. The Higher Education Department has convened a meeting at the Secretariat to strategize ways to fill these vacancies.

For the past three years, officials have instructed colleges and universities to reach out to students who completed school but did not pursue higher education.