March 23: Just about half the students who graduate from private engineering colleges in and around Calcutta get job offers through campus interviews while institutes in the districts are able to provide employment to barely 30 per cent of their students.

Saikat Maitra, the vice-chancellor of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, admitted that placement prospects were poor and blamed it on lack of industry not only in Bengal but across India.

"Private engineering colleges in Calcutta are able to provide jobs to 50 per cent of their students. This has been the trend over the past few years. For institutes in the districts, the percentage is even lower, just about 30 per cent," Maitra said at a press conference to announce the institute's plan for a conclave on start-up ideas and entrepreneurship to tackle the problem of inadequate job opportunities.

Maitra expressed "concern" that "around 30,000 students graduate from private engineering colleges in Bengal every year" but only a few of them find placement. Bengal at present has nearly 127 private engineering colleges, all of them affiliated to the university.

A member of the Association of Professional Academic Institutions (APAI), an organisation of owners of private engineering colleges, too, admitted the problem. He said the local job market had shrunk as industries have been giving the state a miss over the past few years.

"We are trying our best to provide all possible facilities to the students to make them employable. But we are unable to attract companies for campus placements," said the APAI member.

Maitra, however, said despite the decline in employment opportunities, most students of private institutes who opt for BTech courses in IT and computer science are assured of good jobs. Job opportunities are on the decline for students of mechanical, civil and electrical engineering, he said.

A teacher of a private engineering college also attributed the crisis to the stringent screening process adopted by companies, making it tough for students to crack campus interviews.

"Earlier, companies would often offer short-term training to prepare fresh recruits for the job. The system has changed. Companies now recruit only those candidates who are efficient enough to perform right from Day 1," the teacher said.

The situation calls for restructuring of courses and introduction of elements that would make the students industry ready before they pass out of colleges.

Maitra shared the university's plans to introduce a string of measures to enhance employability of students -revising the syllabus, bridging the gap between the basic needs of industries and the expertise available from teachers and academics and make the students understand better the issues and challenges of industries.