The first phase of Telangana Engineering Agricultural and Medical Common Entrance Test (EAMCET) seat allotment has shed light on the state’s Growing Demand for Emerging Technology courses. Notably, despite an increase in the number of seats for these highly sought-after courses this year, seats in artificial intelligence (AI), CSE (IoT and cybersecurity, including blockchain technology), computer science and engineering (Networks) were filled to 100% capacity in a single day.
Growing Demand for Emerging Technology: A Computer Science Fever
The excitement for computer science studies appears peculiar to the Telugu states, with many students blindly choosing these programmes. KVK Rao, general secretary of the All India Federation of Self-financing Technical Institutions, voiced worry that if this trend continues, there may be an imbalance, resulting in a scarcity of students studying core engineering courses.
Rao also mentioned a troubling circumstance in which he was forced to stop computer science and emerging technology courses in another state in order to create room for core engineering programmes. This highlights the huge disparity in course demand between states, with only students from Telangana expressing a strong desire for computer science-related areas.
Statistics Are Exhausting
Telangana has 173 engineering institutions with a total of 82,666 seats. Surprisingly, 70,665 seats were filled during the first phase alone, demonstrating a significant desire for technical education in the state. Computer science and IT-related courses accounted for 55,876 of these seats, and an amazing 94.20% of these seats were filled, leaving only 3,239 vacancies.
The head of the Technical and Professional Institutes Employees Association, V Balakrishna Reddy, detailed his attempts to educate students and parents about alternate courses of study. However, it appears that students are adamant about pursuing computer science-related degrees, with some even prepared to pay large sums for management quota seats if they do not get a slot through conventional counselling.
The Effect on Industries due to Growing Demand for Emerging Technology
While the increase in interest in technology-related courses may be seen favourably by some, professors and administration at academic institutions are concerned about the future impact on product-based enterprises. They believe that the high demand for these courses would result in a scarcity of trained experts in other disciplines, altering the overall employment market balance.
Other states have only a fraction of the seats available for computer science degrees in comparison to Telangana, which has over 67% of the total seats assigned to these fields. This uneven distribution may result in a large talent pool in technology but a scarcity of knowledge in other critical fields.
The Growing Demand for Emerging Technology courses in Telangana is apparent. With an overwhelming response from students during the first phase of seat allocation. While this enthusiasm for technology may pave the way for a technologically knowledgeable generation, it also raises worries about a possible scarcity of students pursuing fundamental engineering and other professions.
