Students trained at marine workshops during the day and attended classes by at night for the three years of the program. The fourth year was devoted fully to classroom instruction at Calcutta. In August 1958, the intake was increased to 60 students and to 100 in the subsequent year. In 1962, an all-India entrance examination was introduced to streamline the standard of the incoming class. In 1982, the Institute of Engineers (India) started recognizing DMET graduates with a First Class (Motor or Steam) licence as equivalent to a graduate engineer, with the right to be called a Chartered Engineer and use "C. Eng (I)" after their names.