With seats slashed, Telangana faculty turn to delivery jobs to survive

Senior faculty members of engineering branches face layoffs and financial hardship as focus shifts to high-demand tech fields

A major reduction in core engineering seats in Telangana has left a significant number of faculty members out of work. Over 70 per cent of these seats disappeared since 2020. With colleges favouring emerging fields like artificial intelligence, data science, and cybersecurity, traditional engineering branches such as mechanical, civil, and electrical engineering have seen a dramatic decline. Many faculty members, some with decades of experience, are now turning to jobs as delivery riders or street vendors to sustain themselves, reported The Times of India.

 

Engineering landscape redefined 

Telangana now hosts 86,943 engineering seats, with a heavy concentration in computer science and its allied branches, which offer 61,587 seats. By contrast, core engineering disciplines such as civil and mechanical engineering together provide only 7,458 seats, while electrical and electronics engineering adds a mere 4,751 seats. Approximately 25 per cent of these seats go unfilled each year, highlighting a shift in student interest toward tech-driven fields. Responding to this trend, many of the state’s 175 Bachelor of Technology (BTech) colleges have slashed core engineering seat allocations by 50 per cent to 75 per cent, prioritising courses that align with industry demands.

 

 

Faculty bear the brunt 

For faculty members in these diminishing fields, the shift has led to widespread job loss and severe pay cuts. “I quit when I was asked to take a 50 per cent pay cut on my already reduced salary,” said Achyuth V, a former mechanical engineering professor, speaking to The Times of India. Now working as a delivery driver and two-wheeler taxi driver, Achyuth earns around Rs 600 a day—an income starkly lower than his previous monthly salary of Rs 40,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh. With core engineering opportunities in Telangana dwindling, he has struggled to secure a new teaching role. 

“Many colleges either did away with mechanical engineering as a branch or reduced the number of seats to hardly 30,” he added, highlighting the shrinking demand for his area of expertise.

 

Calls for government support 

The pressing issue has not gone unnoticed. Speaking about the growing struggle among senior faculty members, D Srinivas Varma, general secretary of the Telangana Technical Institution Employees Association said, “Faculty in their forties and fifties, with years of experience, are finding it nearly impossible to secure positions as neither academia nor the industry shows interest in hiring them.” 

In response, an official from the state’s technical education department indicated upcoming changes designed to balance industry demand with core engineering needs. “This year, we restricted colleges from increasing computer science and engineering seats at the expense of core engineering. Moving forward, we’ll implement stricter intake caps and maintain a balanced approach,” the official stated.