Major setback for the education sector; 58 engineering colleges shut down

According to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), at least 58 engineering colleges across the country were shut down during the academic year 2025-26.

Rather than a ‘complete’ closure, where courses are shut entirely and affected students are transferred to other institutions, this phenomenon is announced as a ‘progressive’ closure, where institutions are shut down gradually while allowing enrolled students to complete their studies.

Out of the 58 colleges, only 3 were government aided, and the others were privately owned.

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Reasons for closure

Hindustan Times reported that existing students will be allowed to complete their term but the institute will not be able to admit students for the first year during the academic year. Some reasons for the closure include less student intake, inability to maintain required faculty, non-compliance of infrastructure and operational norms.

A senior AICTE official told PTI, “A total of 58 engineering and technical colleges were closed progressively during 2025-26. Progressive closure means the institute cannot admit the students for the first year during the academic year for which progressive closure is granted. However the existing students will continue.”

“Over 950 courses being offered in technical and engineering colleges across the country were also closed during the period,” the official added.

Which states have the most affected institutions?

Out of the 58 engineering colleges, the highest number of shutdowns were recorded in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, with 12 colleges each.

Madhya Pradesh has 8 of those institutions, while Punjab and Telangana reported 3 closures. 2 closures each were recorded in Gujarat, Karnataka, Puna and Tamil Nadu. Haryana, Uttarakhand, Odisha and West Bengal witnessed 1 closure each.

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FAQs

1) How many engineering colleges were shut down across India?

According to AICTE, a total of 58 engineering and technical colleges were closed progressively during the academic session of 2025-26.

2) What were the reasons for the closures?

As reported by Hindustan Times, the reasons for closure include less student intake, inability to maintain required faculty, non-compliance of infrastructure and operational norms.