Based in west Delhi, Sri Guru Harkrishan Private ITI is located behind a public school with the same name, and is difficult to reach without help from locals. Not many students seem to making that effort as enrolments have dropped sharply. The result is predictable: The ITI is facing an existential crisis.
For instance, out of the total capacity of 232 seats, just about 129 students, including both senior and junior ones, appeared for exams this year.
“We might just close down the institute if the enrolments keep dropping at this rate. The trust which is supporting us financially is mulling a possible shutdown because it doesn’t make sense to keep funding a loss-making institute. Without the trust support, we cannot operate on our own,” said Charanjit Singh, principal of the institute.
The ITI is currently making losses of about `30 lakh a year, which is being borne by the gurudwara trust.
Macro data shows that the state of enrolments in private ITIs are worse than government ITIs. For instance, the total enrolment in private ITIs stood at 48.4% as on August 2024 as compared to 65.1% in government ITIs.
Besides low enrolments, the ITI is grappling with high student dropouts. This, according to Singh, is due to a large number of non-serious candidates taking admissions. “Because of the low fees of about `25,000 per year, the students take admission while exploring other career opportunities at the same time. When they find a perceived better option, they discontinue their studies here,” he said.
Nearly 80% of the students enrolled are 12th-pass, and another 10% are graduates even though the minimum qualification to apply for ITIs is 10th-pass.
The fact that the ITI is not the first choice for most candidates is also evident from the profile of the students at the institute. Take the case of Pawan Chaudhary, a BA graduate from Delhi University, who just finished his electronics certification course.
Chaudhary, who was doing odd jobs before he enrolled in the ITI, said that for students pursuing a career in technical areas, ITI is usually their last choice. “The first choice is B. Tech followed by diploma from a polytechnic. Only after a student has exhausted all his options, he comes to an ITI,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ITI operates five labs for its five courses — motor vehicle mechanic, electrician, refrigeration and air conditioner mechanic, electronics, and computer operator and programming assistant. Some of these labs are on the basement floor connected through a dimly-lit passage with ventilation issues. “The land and the building belong to the trust so it’s up to them how they want to use it,” said Singh.
While auto companies like Maruti Suzuki and Toyota India have tie-ups with the ITI for OJT (on-the-job training) and subsequent hirings of select students, the institute typically doesn’t attract any reputable recruiters. Most of the hiring for electronics and electrician courses is done by the local service centres who are working on a contractual basis with large consumer durable companies. The service centres hire students with `12,000-16,000 monthly salary, and in most cases, the students quit the job after 1-2 years because the salary growth is negligible.
“Instead of giving hikes to the existing (experienced) employees, the service centres go to ITIs in the nearby areas and hire newly passouts at lower salaries. Most of our students are placed in the services sector. The other issue is that no one is employing these students on the payroll,” Singh said. For instance, in the case of Chaudhary, who has been hired by Delhi-based Teleconnector Ltd at a monthly salary of `18,000, his new employer hasn’t even issued an offer letter for appointment.
