Admissions in government ITIs increased; reduced to private in Punjab

Chandigarh: The ‘study visa’ trend has undoubtedly emptied Punjab’s colleges, but it has not broken the backbone of ITIs in the state. Amidst the rapid migration, students have increasingly favored Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) for skill development.

Despite a decline in admissions to private ITIs, the government sector has witnessed a continuous growth, with 20 new government ITIs opening in the last five years, while 35 private ITIs have shut down.

The technical education department’s findings reveal that in 2019, the state had 117 government ITIs, which has now risen to 137. Conversely, the number of private ITIs has reduced from 220 in 2019 to 185. Notably, 16 private ITIs closed in the last year.

The current session reports a significant 95.62% admissions in government ITIs, compared to 51.01% in private institutions. In 2019, government ITIs achieved a 95.18% seat occupancy, while private ITIs enrolled only 59.48% students.

In 2020, government enrolment reached 93.78%, contrasting with 50.41% in private institutions. In 2022, private enrolment further declined to 47.04%, while government ITIs maintained a robust 92.13% enrolment.

Top-performing government ITIs include those in Bathinda, Patiala, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Moga, and Hoshiarpur. Government ITIs offer free education for SC category students, with an annual fund of only Rs 100, while the general category incurs an annual fee of approximately Rs 3,400.