Bhubaneswar, Feb. 2 -- Odisha's sharp decline in engineering enrollment is often framed as a lack of interest among students. However, data on employment outcomes, faculty shortages and institutional gaps suggests a different reality.

For many aspirants, the decision to step away from engineering is no longer emotional or impulsive. It is now believed that the students are responding rationally to a system that has allegedly failed to match education with opportunity.

Official employment figures reveal the scale of challenges engineering graduates in the state are facing. Over the last decade, only about half of Odisha's engineering graduates have managed to secure jobs. Out of 34,471 graduates, just 15,289 found employment, leaving 19,...