Only 14.6% PG students at PU got placements in 2017-18

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 17

Only 14.6 % postgraduate (PG) students at Panjab University (PU) were able to find employment in 2017-18, according to the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)-2019 report.

This is the lowest placement percentage in PG courses in the last three years. In 2016-17, placements were recorded at 23.6 %. However, in 2015-16, only 18.6 % PG students could find jobs. The university has one-year, two-year and three-year PG courses.

The university will submit the NIRF report before the Ministry of Human Resource Development for rankings across the country next year.

The report included both on-campus and off-campus placements and data of those who got jobs after clearing various entrance exams.

“I can’t believe that someone passing out from the university is sitting idle at home. The Chairpersons should track their students and only then rankings will improve. The data has been taken from the university departments and the Central Placement Cell of PU,” said Prof Rajivlochan, Director, Internal Quality Assurance Cell.

Placements in 3-yr PG courses better

The maximum placements are witnessed in three-year PG programmes. In 2015-16, it was 52 %, which jumped to 63.7 % in 2016-17, and in 2017-18, the percentage increased to 64.3 %. However, in two-year PG courses, placements were lowest in 2017-18 at 12.1 % as just 246 persons could be placed out of 2,037. The placement percentage was 21.3% in 2016-17 and 16.9 % in 2015-16. There is no placement in one-year PG programme.

Marginal rise in overall UG course placements

There is a marginal increase in placements in undergraduate (UG) courses at PU. In 2017-18, it was 27.9 %, while in 2016-17, it was 26.8 % and in 2015-16, it was 32.6 %. There are three-year, four-year and five-year UG courses at the university. The best placements in UG courses were witnessed in four-year programmes, but still it was lowest in three years in 2017-18. There were 59.9 % placements in 2017-18, while there were 62.2 % placements in 2016-17 and 67 % placements in 2015-16. In three-year UG programmes in 2017-18, just three students got placed out of 742 at 0.4 %. In 2016-17, 16 students got placed out of 766 at 2.1%. In 2015-16, 38 students got placed out of 854 at 4.4 %.

Officialspeak

“A lot of our students also go abroad and do not prefer to sit for placements. The number of placements came down in 2017-18, but a rise is being witnessed in 2018-19,” said Prof SK Chadha, Honorary Director, Central Placement Cell, PU.