A Jadavpur University engineering course that is usually pursued by working professionals has had only 40 per cent takers this year, possibly because the hope that the degree will bring promotions has faded among potential applicants.

After the university conducted counselling independently, of the 50 seats each in the evening courses of electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, 33 and 34 seats have remained vacant, respectively. The university is holding a fresh round of counselling.

The current job situation does not suggest that the course would be rewarding for working professionals, several teachers said.

Those who have completed their diploma in engineering pursue the five-year BTech (evening) programme while working during the day, in the hope that a degree from JU will help them land a plum promotion, officials of JU’s engineering faculty said.

A candidate has to have at least a year’s job experience to apply for JU’s evening engineering programme. The applicant has to submit a no-objection certificate from the employer to enrol.

But after the university held counselling among 379 applicants in December, a staggering number of seats remained vacant in the two coveted streams. Three seats have remained vacant in the civil engineering department, which is among the three evening engineering programmes JU offers.

For HR departments, an additional degree by a working professional does not trigger much of a response anymore. According to them, retaining a job should be the sole concern of an employee.

A professor of IIM Calcutta said that he wasn’t surprised by what was happening at JU. At IIM, six working professionals had quit the executive MBA programme because hope faded that the degree would bring a promotion.

Candidates would sometimes quit their jobs to pursue the course. “Under normal circumstances, candidates feel the course will land them a plum job so they don’t hesitate to quit their current job. But Covid has changed everything,” an IIM-C teacher said.

Working professionals might find it more prudent to work longer hours now instead of taking time off to pursue an evening course, another IIM-C teacher said. “They are focussed on retaining the job they have.”

“We have to find out why so many seats remained vacant,” said JU pro vice-chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, who is also the former dean of engineering.