Government Polytechnic in Dhanbad. Picture by Gautam Dey

The overall economic gloom may have slowed down the placement process at Government Polytechnic Institute, Dhanbad, but the authorities are nevertheless happy that a considerable number of students have landed jobs with reputable companies.

Till now, 40 of the total 300 diploma students from the 2010-13 batch have landed jobs in various reputable companies during campus drives. The figure is expected to improve with nine metallurgical engineering students appearing for an interview at BRG group, a steel company, in Calcutta on Tuesday. The result is due within a week.

Lecturer of civil engineering department and placement in-charge of the institute Benjamin Kandulna said: “It’s true that this year’s placement record is not as good as that of last year but one has to see the figures in the light of the global slowdown. Considering that very few companies have job vacancies at present, we have done pretty well. Forty of our students have bagged good jobs.”

According to Kandulna, a maximum of 23 students, including eight from mechanical engineering, four from electrical engineering and 11 from metallurgical engineering, have been taken by Bhushan Steel during a campus recruitment drive on March 15.

“Usha Martin came calling on March 25 and hired six students — three from mechanical engineering and three from metallurgical engineering. But Power Grid Corporation, which also selected the same number of students, offered the highest annual package of Rs 2,76,000,” Kandulna said.

Earlier, BRJ Group had lapped up three students from mechanical engineering stream at a pay package of Rs 1,20,000 per year. HCL and ACC took one student from IT and civil engineering, respectively.

“These are the on-campus figures. Off-campus, a large number of our students have been absorbed as junior engineers in the state administration after clearing a exam about a couple of months ago. We have information that 90 per cent of 60 civil engineering students of the current batch and also from the earlier batch qualified the exam,” said principal of Government Polytechnic Institute K.K. Sinha.

Though there are no official records, around 100 students of the institute are said to have bagged other government jobs too, Sinha added.

Last year, 67 students were able to bag jobs during the placement exercise.