Bhubaneswar: There is an unprecedented enthusiasm among students for pursuing a B.Ed. course. Compared to the total number of available seats, applications are 30 to 50 times higher. The number of applicants taking the entrance exam is also increasing every year. On the other hand, there is a lack of equal enthusiasm among students for higher education. Applications for the CPET (Common PG Entrance Test) for postgraduate studies are decreasing.
While interest in job-oriented education like B.Ed. is growing, applications for higher education are dropping. Currently, there are 2,750 B.Ed. seats in 31 institutes. For the current academic year, a total of 1,29,712 candidates have applied for the B.Ed. entrance exam, which is more than 47 times the number of seats available. Among the applicants, the number of female candidates is significantly higher than male candidates. This time, 43,612 male candidates have applied, while nearly double — 86,093 female candidates — have registered for the exam.
Specifically, for B.Ed. alone, 1,26,125 applications have been submitted, while 1,936 applications were received for B.H.Ed. and 1,651 for M.Ed. Compared to the previous academic year, the number of applications has significantly increased. In 2024–25, 95,112 students applied for B.Ed., which was 34 times the total seat count. This year, nearly 34,600 more candidates have applied, raising the competition to 47 times the seats.
However, there is no similar level of interest in pursuing postgraduate education. Last year, there were 28,926 PG seats across 113 institutions. This year, 806 seats have been added, bringing the total to 29,732. But the number of applicants has declined. In 2023, there were 69,705 applications. In 2024, that dropped by around 6,000 to 63,150. This year, it further declined to 62,321. Among them, 43,147 are female candidates, while 19,119 are male.
While interest in job-oriented education like B.Ed. is rising, enthusiasm for higher education is declining. According to educationists, the B.Ed. course leads to potential job opportunities as a teacher. With many teaching posts vacant in the state, the chances of recruitment are higher. In contrast, becoming a lecturer after a postgraduate degree requires facing much tougher competition. Also, students who aim for competitive recruitment exams prefer to start preparing after graduation rather than pursue a postgraduate degree, resulting in a steady decline in applications for higher education.
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