NIT Manipur placements in crisis as curfew, internet shutdown drive recruiters away

NEW DELHI: Many companies have canceled their recruitment drives this placement season at National Institute of Technology (NIT) Manipur, said KH Johnson Singh, faculty coordinator, training and placement cell, NIT Manipur. “As Manipur is badly affected due to violence, many companies are turning away from campus recruitment drives this year,” Singh told Careers360 .

While many companies had earlier agreed on a virtual recruitment this year, on December 2, a few companies reneged on that promise, refusing to come to the campus. “They refused citing the current conditions in the state. Despite our assurances that NIT Manipur is safe, companies have revoked their drives impacting student placements this year ,” added Singh.

A BTech Computer Science Engineering student who is part of the NIT's campus placement team stated: “At the same time last year, at least 70% of students were placed in CSE. But less than 50% have been placed so far, and with an overall percentage of only 40%.”

NIT Manipur has witnessed high placements from 2021 till 2023. But the ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities has engulfed the state since last year, leading to frequent curfews and internet shut-downs. In consequence, placement rates have been declining, explained another student from the campus, keeping his identity anonymous. He added, “Last year many students failed to get placed and had to go for off-campus placements .”

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NIT Manipur Placements: Companies drop out

NIT Manipur’s campus placement drive began at the end of August. In a normal scenario, the majority of companies would have already visited by this time. However, this year, even public sector companies and mass recruiters including PSUs, major Indian technology firms and consultancies have refused to participate. Some companies have not even scheduled their drives.

Singh added, “About 40% of the companies have refused to come for placements this year. Last year fewer companies participated due to the curfew imposed from May 2023 onwards. And the situation is similar this academic year.” (See update)

Another student from BTech CSE, who did not want to be named, stated that every second week, a curfew is imposed in the state. “There is continuous violence in the state and a constant internet shutdown. So companies do not want to take the risk of employees getting stuck in the state,” he said.

While the Manipur violence began last year, the placement situation is even worse this year. This is especially galling because in the rest of the country, especially in the Indian Institutes of Technology, placement rates have recovered since last year's slump in BTech recruitment . That’s reflected in NIT Manipur’s highest and average packages.

“This year the highest package has gone till only Rs 13 lakh per annum while last year it was Rs 26 lakh per annum. Even the average packages have decreased from Rs 9.5 lakh per annum to Rs 8 lakh per annum,” said Sri Harshit Reddy, a BTech CSE student and member of the placement team .

So far, 35 companies have conducted virtual interviews and around 70 students have been placed.

NIT Manipur pushing for online interviews

During and even after the COVID-19 pandemic, recruiters were open to online interviews and recruitment processes. However, this year, they appear to have gone back to their pre-2020 policy on campus recruitment.

While some companies have conducted drives online, students said that many are reluctant to hold online interviews. “Companies feel that online interviews are not as effective as offline campus recruitments. They prefer one-on-one interviews,” explained Patidar.

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“We are trying to convince companies to do virtual interviews,” said Singh. But the recruiters are reluctant.

A student from the mechanical engineering department, said, “We are encouraging companies to come online as many of them have an on-campus recruitment policy. And now companies are doing physical recruitment pan-India this year and they cannot change their policy just for one institute.”

While the placement team is still getting companies for online recruitment, it will be difficult to place students this year, stated Singh.

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NIT Manipur exploring pooled recruitment

Given the scenario, NIT Manipur is willing to send students to a pooled campus recruitment site in the nearby states.

Singh said: “ We are also trying to send students, if there is a small number of them, to the company's location or a pooled campus recruitment site for the final round. But it's a costly process.”

Many companies are recruiting offline this year, including in the state institutes of Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.

Patidar stated that they are offering solutions but still many companies have denied them. “We are trying to provide support to these companies to take tests online with live CCTV access. While a few companies have agreed, many have outright refused,” he said.

• Update: The names of firms have been removed from this story on a request from NIT Manipur students.
• Update on December 12: The number of companies dropping out is now between 10% and 15% and no longer 40%, said the placement head.