Vacant engineering seats likely to go up in state

At present, 74,601 candidates were given provisional allotment for joining engineering courses. However, more than 3,000 candidates who had participated in the fifth and final round of counselling and obtained allotments, are expected to withdraw for pursuing non-engineering courses.

It is anticipated that only about 70,000 students would take up engineering courses this academic year, which is an all-time low.

A senior professor from Anna University told DT Next on Wednesday that most of the students who took part in the final round of counselling obtained allotment only in self-financing colleges where the fees are exorbitant. “In addition, large number of the students from the last batch of counselling, who opted either Computer Science or Electronics and Communications, got allotments against their choice as the seats were very limited. Therefore, we expect that about 3,000 students will take up non-engineering courses,” a lecturer working with the Anna University said. 

Civil engineering course is said to be the last choice among the students this academic year, as there was no progress in the construction and real estate sector, he said. Instrumentation was another least preferred course. 

Going by the current trend, many self-financing colleges in Tamil Nadu may manage to fill only 10-20 per cent seats this year, said the professor, adding that the recent circular from AICTE had directed institutions with less than 30 per cent admission to close down. However, most college owners are reluctant as they have invested substantial amount in these institutions.