Chennai: With student enrollment dwindling year after year, private polytechnic institutions in Tamil Nadu are seeking to convert their colleges into engineering institutions, officials said on Wednesday.

Tamil Nadu currently has 55 government, 32 government-aided, and 430 private polytechnics offering three-year diploma courses across various disciplines, including civil, mechanical, electrical and electronics, computer engineering, textile technology, biomedical engineering, and more. Together, these institutes provide approximately 1.62 lakh seats.

While government polytechnics have witnessed a steady rise in admissions, private polytechnics are facing a significant decline. Enrollment figures dropped from 68,888 students in the 2022-23 academic year to 63,561 in 2023-24, with only 58,426 seats filled last year. This steep fall has forced 17 private polytechnics to shut down in the past year, with applications underway to close 15 more this academic session.

Officials from the Directorate of Technical Education revealed that closure permissions have been sought for polytechnics located in districts including Kanyakumari (4), Erode (2), Namakkal (2), Chennai (2), Tiruppur, Dindigul, Kanchipuram, Trichy, and Sivaganga.

Citing the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) regulations allowing existing institutions to repurpose infrastructure for alternative courses, many polytechnic managements have opted to surrender their polytechnic licenses in favor of establishing engineering colleges.

Industry experts point out that while polytechnic graduates generally have multiple job opportunities, students prefer engineering courses due to prospects of higher salaries and better career growth, contributing to the declining interest in diploma programs.