Placements draw pupils to govt ITIs in Maha as 2L seats fill up in two weeks

Better placement opportunities and lower fees have students flocking to the government-run Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) in the state. Admission for ITI began on June 12 and 2,07,380 students have registered for various courses under the ITI trades across the state till June 27.

The choice of courses and trades like ‘drone technician trade’ offered at the government ITIs has also been a big draw for students. The deadline for admission is July 11 and registrations will further increase, said officials.

According to education experts, ITI is seen as an employment opportunity by students, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. Even students with above 90 per cent are applying for the new emerging trade courses in ITI which are in demand from the industries. Although the criteria is Class 10-pass, there is an increase in registration of students who have cleared Class 12.

As per the information given by the state vocational education department, for this academic year, 95,380 seats in 418 government ITIs and 59,012 seats in 574 non-government ITIs will be admitted to a total of 1,54,392 seats. For these available seats, till now, 2,07,380 students have registered, while 1,02,229 students have completed the application form and 1,88,997 students have paid the fees.

There are 83 trades in ITI, including traditional electrician, fitter, mechanic motor vehicle, diesel mechanic, refrigeration and air conditioning technician, computer operator and programming assistant, and welder along with popular trades like aeronautical structure and equipment fitter.

“There is a huge response to the ITI courses this year especially from the students with higher percentages. Students who received above 90 per cent are also applying in large numbers. Students after completing class 12 board exams are applying for the courses and as we have introduced some new trades like drone technician from this year there is demand for these courses,” said Digambar Dalvi, state director of vocational education and training.

“The first merit list of the admission process will be released on July 20 at 11 am. This year, the admission process will be conducted in four rounds and one round for counselling. The raw list will be announced on July 13,” added Dalvi.