In a new low, an overwhelming 87% of all the engineering seats in Tamil Nadu remain vacant after two rounds of counselling. Of the 1,66,582 seats, only 21,532 have been filled so far. This report comes amidst an All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) official saying four engineering colleges in the state have opted for “progressive closure“.
78 technical colleges have opted for “progressive closure” so far this year, the officials at the AICTE said. The major reasons behind the institutions opting for closure are fewer takers for the courses or colleges and shortage of funds, a senior official of the AICTE told PTI. A majority of these colleges (31) are in Uttar Pradesh, while six are in Punjab and five are based in Chhattisgarh and Haryana each.
“Progressive closure” refers to when an institution no longer takes fresh admissions and continues to functions till the time the existing students graduate.
Closer scrutiny reveals that only 27 of the 494 engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu have been able to fill more than 50% of sanctioned intake. According to the Times of India, last year 72,648 seats were filled at the end of all the rounds of counselling. This year, that number is expected to be close to 60,000.
The principal from a city engineering college told the Times of India that, “Usually, more than 40,000 seats are filled by the time cut-off drops. This year, only about 21,000 seats have been filled so far. In terms of admission, this would be one of the lowest in recent years.”
These are the numbers after July 18, the last day of the second round of seat allotment under the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA). The third round of TNEA 2019 counselling process began on July 21 and the final allotment result for this round will be published on Tuesday, July 23. Candidates who have ranked up to 64,093 are allowed for TNEA 2019 third round counselling.
Round four allotment process will be held from July 23 to July 28. Candidates who have secured ranks till 1,01,692 will be allowed to appear in this round.
Consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi expects more seats to fill in the next few rounds. He told the Times of India: “For the third and fourth rounds, 70,164 students were called. More than 40,000 seats could be filled. After completing academic, vocational and supplementary counselling, the total may cross 75,000” (as opposed to the previous estimate of 60,000).
Secretary of Consortium of Self- Financing Professional, Arts and Science Colleges, P. Selvaraj, told the Times of India that this in continuation with a downward trend over the last few years. “The negative publicity that engineers are not getting jobs is keeping students away. We have taken some measures to create awareness for engineering courses. Hopefully, the trend will reverse from next year,” he said.
Featured image credit: PTI