All-girls engg colleges find few takers, may have to shut shop

The girls aspiring to be engineers seem to be not enthused about studying in all-girls engineering colleges in the state if the experience of the two girls-only engineering colleges in the state are any indication.

While one of the colleges was set up four years ago and another just three years ago, but both are facing acute shortage of students for the last two years.

The management of these colleges say that the situation is so bad this year that they may consider either closing down the institution as it is not financially viable or convert them into co-educational institution.

While the Madhuben and Bhanubhai Patel Women's Institute of Engineering for Studies and Research in Computer and Communication Technology (MBICT) at Vallabh Vidyanagar run by the Charutar Vidya Mandal (CVM) got only 150 students in the first year of their four-year degree course this year against a total intake strength of 480 in five different disciplines, only 125 students chose the Sagar Institute of Technology for Girls (SITG) at Prantij in Sabarkantha district run by the Sagar Education Trust for admission. The same was the situation last year as well.

However, the the co-ed engineering institute run by the two trusts have all their seats filled up. "The only-girls engineering institutes are not clicking," said CVM president C L Patel.

Patel said his trust had started the women's engineering institute with a view to promoting technical education among girl from areas like Saurashtra as also from the Muslim community who were unwilling to send their girls to mixed colleges.

"But I now feel that girls engineering institutes don't have appeal for the female students who are flocking in large numbers to co-ed colleges," said Patel.

MBCIT principal Vitthal Narsinha Kamath said as female students did not prefer the girls-only college, the management might convert it into a co-ed institute as it was not viable to run with one-third strength of the intake capacity and particularly when the institute was paying salaries as per six pay panel's recommendations.

... contd.

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