Drop in placement rates at 22 out of 23 IITs since 2021-22: Govt data
In its report on the department of higher education’s demand for grants 2025-26 tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, a parliamentary committee noted an “unusual decline” in placements
Placements of Bachelor of Technology graduates dropped in 2023-24 compared to 2021-22 at 22 out of the 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), barring IIT (BHU). IIT Dharwad recorded the sharpest drop of nearly 25 percentage points and IIT Kharagpur the smallest (2.88 percentage points), according to the data the Union education ministry shared with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports. The drop was over 10 percentage points at 15 IITs.
In its report on the department of higher education’s demand for grants 2025-26 tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, the Congress lawmaker Digvijaya Singh-led committee noted an “unusual decline” in placements at IITs and Indian Institutes of Information Technology between the years 2021-22 and 2023-24. The corresponding data for IIITs was not included in the report.
Between 2021-22 and 2023-24, 15 IITs recorded placement rate drops exceeding 10 percentage points. IIT Dharwad recorded the largest decline from 90.20% to 65.56%, followed by IIT Jammu, from 92.08% to 70.25%. IIT Roorkee faced a steep decline from 98.54% to 79.66%. IIT (BHU) Varanasi’s placement rate rose from 83.15% in 2021-22 to 88.04% in 2023-24, a rise of 4.89 percentage points.
In 2021-22, the percentage of students who secured jobs out of those who appeared for placements ranged from 83.15% at IIT (BHU) Varanasi and 98.65% at IIT Goa. Fourteen of the 23 IITs recorded over 90% placements. In 2023-24, only three IITs—Jodhpur, Patna, and Goa—recorded over 90% placements. IIT Jodhpur had the highest percentage at 92.98% and IIT Dharwad the lowest (65.56%).
Barring IIT Tirupati, where 134 students appeared for placements in 2023-24 compared to 150 in 2021-22, all the other 22 IITs recorded an increase in this score.
Five IITs improved placement percentages in 2022-23 compared to the previous year, followed by a decline in 2023-24. The placements from IIT Delhi increased from 87.69% to 89.88% before dropping significantly to 72.81%. IIT Roorkee recorded a placement rate of 98.54% in 2021-22, which improved to 97.67% in 2022-23. It fell sharply to 79.66% in 2023-24. IIT (BHU) Varanasi’s placements jumped from 83.15% to 95.62% before settling at 88.04%.
IIT Bhubaneswar followed a similar pattern. The placements there rose from 82.48% to 86.07% before dipping back to 82.48%. IIT Goa achieved a 98.65% placement rate in 2021-22, which improved to 99.05% in 2022-23 but later declined to 92.73%.
Placement percentages increased at three IITs—Kharagpur, Gandhinagar, and Tirupati—in 2023-24 compared to 2022-23. The placements dropped from 86.79% in 2021-22 to 79.70% in 2022-23 at IIT Kharagpur. They rebounded to 83.91% in 2023-24.
IIT Gandhinagar recorded a dip in placements from 91.85% in 2021-22 to 80.89% in 2022-23. The placements improved to 82.39% in 2023-24. IIT Tirupati showed a significant recovery in placements after falling sharply from 94.67% in 2021-22 to 70.18% in 2022-23. They surged back to 86.57% in 2023-24.
Placement season 2024-25 at IITs will continue tentatively until June 30, 2025.
The parliamentary committee noted the placements are dependent on market trends. It cited students opting for higher education or pursuing start-up ventures among the reasons for the decline in placement rates. The panel asked the higher education department to “find out ways and take measures to enhance employability accordingly”.
It noted a similar trend at the National Institutes of Technology. There has been a decline in the average financial packages that students received between 2022-23 and 2023-24. The corresponding data was not provided.
