A polytechnic college in Ranchi. File picture

Ranchi, May 15: Odds notwithstanding, state’s 15 polytechnic colleges and diploma-level engineering courses are still being sought after, thanks to steel, iron and power industries entering the Jharkhand market.

This year, the number of students appearing for entrance tests to 12 government and three private polytechnics suggests that the courses are still popular as (approximately) 55,000 students are slated to appear for the tests to be held on May 18.

Last year, around 35,000 students took up the tests for about 3,000 seats.

Sources in the Jharkhand Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board, a government agency that conducts the tests, told The Telegraph that the overwhelming response had stumped the panel as well, especially if the condition of polytechnic colleges in the state were taken into consideration. Several of them, they admitted, lacked basic infrastructure.

Usually polytechnic colleges offer three-year diploma courses in electrical, electronics, mechanical, civil and computer engineering along with information, automobile and drilling technology and a diploma in medical laboratory technology.

The 12 government polytechnics include three in Ranchi, Bokaro and Jamshedpur that are for women only. There are also a handful of private polytechnics in Jamshepdur (Al Kabir Polytechnic), Dhanbad (KK Polytechnic) and Ranchi (Centre for Bio-informatics).

Recently, officials of the state unit of Jindal Steel and Power Limited held a campus recruitment drive at the Al Kabir Polytechnic and short-listed 20 students. Other companies are expected to follow.

State technical education director Arun Kumar said the trend showed a developing interest towards technical education here. But, he admitted that polytechnics were in bad shape and needed a revamp of their infrastructure and man power.

“Only 30 per cent of teachers are running the show at government-run polytechnics. Due to the paucity of teachers quite a few of the older branches had to be closed and new branches could not be opened,” he said.