The Indian Institutes of Technology, IITs are dealing with an unexpected challenge in job placements for the current academic year, which has caused confusion and stress among students. According to the data obtained through Right to Information (RTI) filed by IIT Kanpur alumni Dheeraj Singh, around 8,000 IIT students, representing 38% across 23 campuses, are still unplaced.
This year, out of 21,500 students who registered for placements, only 13,410 students were able to secure jobs, leaving 38% still searching for employment. This marks a significant increase from two years ago when 3,400 (19%) students were unplaced. Worsening the issue, IIT Delhi had 22% of its students without jobs over the past five years, with 40% still unemployed in 2024.
“According to the RTI reply, 600 students from IIT Delhi have been unplaced in the last two years,” Dheeraj Singh said.
Dheeraj Singh urged IIT Directors to start rolling placements so that unplaced students can sit for placements in the next season. He also solicited work opportunities from the alumni/association for the unplaced students. Additionally, he requested parents of unplaced students to provide much-needed emotional support to their children who might be reluctant to talk about this issue.
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The job placement crisis is also impacting the mental health of students. Six IIT students have died by suicide this year, which highlights the amount of stress and anxiety students are experiencing. According to the data shared by Dheeraj Singh, from 2022 to 2024, the number of registered students at the older nine IITs went up by 1.2 times, but the number of students without jobs increased by 2.1 times. At the newer 14 IITs, student registrations grew by 1.3 times, while the number of unplaced students jumped by 3.8 times.
As IITs go through these challenging times, the job placement problem remains a serious issue that needs quick and effective solutions.
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