CHENNAI: As many as 37,943 engineering seats remain vacant in Tamil Nadu after the third round of counselling, even as 1,57,570 seats have been filled so far, highlighting the widening gap between the number of seats available and student demand.
Tamil Nadu has 418 engineering colleges, with Anna University approving 2,53,806 seats for admission this year. Of these, 1,95,513 seats are to be filled through the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) counselling process. A total of 2,36,017 students had applied for engineering admissions this year.
The tentative allotment results for the third round of BE and BTech counselling were released on Friday. Of the 1,02,719 eligible candidates, 68,640 students received tentative seat allotments. This included 66,159 allotments under the academic stream and 2,481 allotments to government school students under the 7.5% quota.
As many as 24 colleges have recorded zero admissions, while another 64 colleges have admitted fewer than 10 students
Students who have received tentative allotments must confirm their seats through the online confirmation option by 5 pm on Saturday. TNEA authorities have said that failure to confirm the allotted seat within the deadline could result in cancellation of the allotment.
The third round covered candidates with cut-off marks ranging from 135.50 to 77.50, including general category students and eligible government school students under the 7.5% quota.
The large number of vacant seats has raised concerns over admissions in several engineering colleges. As many as 24 colleges have recorded zero admissions, while another 64 colleges have admitted fewer than 10 students.
Meanwhile, registration for supplementary counselling has begun. Students who cleared Class 12 through supplementary examinations, as well as those who missed the regular counselling process, can apply until August 31. The supplementary round is expected to provide another opportunity for students to secure engineering seats.