In Gujarat, the number of girls enrolling in diploma engineering courses has significantly increased. In just one year, the enrollment rate for girls rose from 6.29% in 2024 to around 18% in 2025. This change is seen across 35 government polytechnic colleges in the state.
The admissions for diploma engineering this year have also improved overall. The admission rate reached 88.24%, compared to 84.11% last year. A total of 22,213 seats were available, and 19,601 students have enrolled. Out of these, 16,075 are boys, making up 82.01%, while 3,526 are girls, accounting for 17.99%.
Harshad Parmar, the acting member secretary of the Admission Committee for Professional Diploma Courses (ACPDC), noted that the rise in girls’ enrollment can be attributed to various social media campaigns. These campaigns, along with nearly 1,000 physical awareness camps held in more than 7,000 schools, have encouraged more girls to consider diploma engineering.
The principal of the Government Polytechnic for Girls in Ahmedabad, Bhaskar Iyer, supports this view. He mentioned that female students shared their experiences and job prospects through social media, which raised awareness and interest among potential students.
Despite this positive trend, not all diploma courses are seeing the same level of interest. In self-financed institutes, only 9,887 out of 38,591 seats were filled, resulting in a low admission rate of 25%.
In the third round of admissions, which followed the initial rounds, a total of 3,817 students applied. From these, 1,168 were admitted, and 65 students shifted from private institutes to government ones. After this round, 2,612 seats still remain vacant.
Although this is currently the final round of admissions, ACPDC officials have mentioned that a fourth round could happen if the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) extends the deadline for the academic year, which starts on August 15.
The state government’s decision to allow students who passed supplementary or improvement exams to apply has also impacted the numbers. Out of 4,337 candidates who registered, 2,472 secured seats.
Mechanical and civil engineering branches recorded strong admission rates. Mechanical engineering saw its admission rate increase from 88.27% to 96.38%, while civil engineering grew from 74.44% to 87.97%.
However, some fields, such as Information and Communication Technology (ICT), have seen a decline in interest. The admission rate for ICT dropped from 72.4% to 56.78%, with only 469 out of 826 seats filled. Similarly, textile design and ceramic technology also experienced significant drops in enrollment. Textile design admissions fell from 73.33% to 34.67%, while ceramic technology decreased from 47.37% to 28.95%.
Iyer remarked that the trend of students shifting their preference from mechanical and civil engineering to IT and computer-related fields has reversed. He believes that the decline in interest for courses like ceramic and textile is not due to industry slumps but rather a lack of awareness among students about these programs.
The data suggests that the push for greater female representation in engineering fields is gaining momentum in Gujarat. However, efforts to raise awareness about all diploma courses, especially those that are currently less popular, will be essential to ensure balanced enrollment in the future.