Paper Title
Analysis of the Decline in Popularity of Technical Education: The Punjab Perspective

Abstract
The Engineering discipline in general and diploma level courses in particular are going through the worst crisis in India and particularly in Punjab. The reasons behind it are multiple. Low grade private institutions imparting below par skill set to students, poor institute-industry interaction, attitudinal drift among young students interested in studying abroad are some core reasons. This document tries to understand and explain the major causes for the decline of Technical Education in Punjab. The degradation of education has resulted in workforce with very little skill and thus unfit for placement. This study is based on various white papers of the government and overall trend of the market. The closure reports filed by many technical institutions to the Board, very low percentage of admission in the last few years are there for all to see. The technical education system has many inadequacies and one adequacy is that there has been a very casual approach to deal with it. Re-engineering the entire technical system is the need of the hour. The employability of the graduates can only be increased by keeping strict vigil on the performance of the students and colleges at all levels. Low performing institutes need to be prevented from providing inadequate knowledge to the students. The staff should be made more answerable for their performances. The industry should come forward and support the institutions and guide them with the latest skill requirements. The curriculum should be designed and upgraded regularly and with active contribution from the industry. The quality of teaching and learning need to be evolved and the faculty should be trained preferably by the industry partners. Staff appraisal and assessment should be a permanent feature of all institutions. Need of the hour is to revive the confidence by offering skill oriented courses, better industry tie-ups. The Govt has already initiated Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna to enhance the skill level and the syllabus is hereby now designed as per National Skills Quality Framework so as to make studies outcome based. Keywords - Technical Education, Crisis, Practical Knowhow, Skill Training, Scholarship