Over 55 engineering and technical colleges shut across India in 2025-26: AICTE

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has reported that 58 engineering and technical colleges across India underwent progressive closure during the 2025-26 academic year, while students already enrolled will be allowed to complete their degree programs.

An AICTE official said the colleges have been placed under progressive closure, meaning they cannot admit first-year students for the current academic year. Students already enrolled, however, will be permitted to continue their studies until they graduate.

Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra recorded the highest number of closures, with 12 institutions each. Madhya Pradesh followed with eight closures, while Telangana and Punjab reported four each.

The AICTE data further showed that Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan each saw three colleges closed. Gujarat, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu recorded two closures each, while Haryana, Odisha, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal had one closure apiece.

Of the 58 institutions, three were government-aided colleges, while the remaining were privately managed.

The AICTE official also said that more than 950 engineering and technical courses offered by institutions across the country were discontinued during the same period.

The regulator explained that under progressive closure, institutions stop admitting new students but continue operating until all currently enrolled students complete their programs.

In contrast, complete closure requires an institution to shut down entirely, with students transferred to other colleges.

According to AICTE, institutions may be permitted to close for a variety of reasons, including low student enrollment, inadequate availability of qualified faculty, failure to meet infrastructure requirements, and non-compliance with the council's prescribed norms.

AICTE is the national regulatory body for technical education in India and oversees programs in engineering, architecture, management, pharmacy, and other technical disciplines to ensure institutions maintain the required academic and infrastructure standards.