Demand for BArch courses on the wane in Karnataka

Mangaluru: The architecture course, which once had a booming demand, has had not many takers from the past few years. According to data provided by the Karnataka Examination Authority, this academic year (2023-24) out of 1,197 seats allotted in Karnataka, only 450 seats have been taken with the remaining 747 seats going vacant.
Multiple reasons are cited for the poor response to the course.They include more supply than demand, too many colleges but not many jobs, remmuneration for a fresher much lower than the amount spent on the course. “From my experience, I can say candidates who take up architecture course are always passionate about the subject. Since admissions and demand for the course are not positive, it may impact colleges offering the course,” said Ramya S, director of KEA.

The Karnataka state data for 2022-23 shows that 614 seats were vacant out of the available 1,043 seats, and during the 2021–22 academic year, 651 seats were vacant out of the 1,086 seats.
According to colleges, students taking a five-year course have started to see negative growth over the past few years. One of the prestigious architecture colleges in Dakshina Kannada, which has a total intake of 40 admissions, has managed to fill only 23 seats so far. There are about 40 plus colleges in the state. The colleges in undivided Dakshina Kannada district charge a fee anywhere between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 4 lakh per annum (excluding hostel and other fees) for the course.
Academicians and teaching faculty feel that the course fee is heavy and there is no guarantee of a well-paid job after completing the course. Therefore, candidates invest the same energy and money in other courses.
“With the increase of private colleges, the amount of money students spend on the course is exorbitant. And the salary they get after their graduation does not match that. As a result, aspirants feel that it’s not worth spending so much time and money on the course,” pointed out a faculty member with an experience spanning over a decade in teaching.
Another experienced faculty member shared that the architecture boom started in the last 10 years. There was no check on the increase in the number of new colleges for architecture.
“I remember when I was doing my graduation in 2008, there were only four colleges in Kerala. Currently, there are about 30 or more such colleges. The scenario is similar in Karnataka,” shared another faculty member. Others pointed out that confusion in the National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA) is also one of the reasons for the poor response to the course.