A placement crisis has hit the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). According to disclosures made under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by IIT Kanpur alumnus Dheeraj Singh, a staggering 38 percent of IIT graduates across all 23 campuses remain unemployed.
Singh, in a LinkedIn post, highlighted that nearly 8,000 students failed to secure placements through campus recruitment this year. This is a sharp increase from two years ago, when the number was about 3,400. The older nine IITs are notably impacted, with 16,400 students registered for placements this year and 6,050 (37 percent) still jobless. The newer 14 IITs are in a slightly worse situation, with 2,040 (40 percent) of 5,100 registered students unplaced.
"Unplaced students are experiencing significant stress, anxiety, and hopelessness due to the poor job placement scenario," he wrote.
Traditionally, IIT placements were marked by the excitement of 'day zero', when top recruiters would arrive on campus even before the hiring season officially began. However, the current scenario is starkly different, with IITs now reaching out to their alumni networks for support.
SOS to alumni
The institute is reportedly appealing to its alumni for assistance, urging them to provide job opportunities, referrals, and internships. The Office of Career Services (OCS) at IIT Delhi underscored the crucial role alumni support plays in helping these students begin their professional careers.
Other engineering institutes like the Birla Institute of Technology and Science and IIT Bombay are also seeking help from their former students. Despite the placement process continuing until the end of June, about 10 percent of IIT Bombay's batch, or 250 candidates, remain unplaced.
Chatgpt effect?
V Ramgopal Rao, vice-chancellor of BITS Group, reportedly said placements are down by 20 to 30 percent across the board. He cautioned that if institutes claim all students are placed, the quality of those jobs might be questionable. Rao attributed this decline to the significant impact of technologies like ChatGPT and large language models, which have reduced hiring needs by making it possible for two people to do the work of three.