New procedures in TNEA expected to benefit students

CHENNAI: The introduction of a new procedure -- "Accept and Upward" -- for the TN engineering admissions (TNEA) is expected to benefit about 20,000 students this year.

With the new procedure, the students could move to their preferred colleges from the temporary allotment institution they were initially assigned.

In another way, the candidate who is satisfied with the seat allotted but wishes to wait for allotment in the higher order of his/her choice in the ensuing upward movement will be given a tentative allotment order.

A senior official from the Higher Education Department said that, accordingly, students must report to the nearest student facilitation centre, on or before the date specified in the allotment order and pay the necessary fees for upward movement.

Stating that the ‘Accept and Upward’ procedure was introduced in 2024-2025, the official said a total of 14,837 students benefited from advancing to their preferred colleges.

He said earlier, once the students have got the tentative allotment of engineering seats, they have to settle for what they have.

"This year, it is expected that around 20,000 students will benefit since more number of candidates were enrolled for admissions in 2025," he said, adding "maximum awareness was created among the students about the new procedure."

Explaining about another new procedure -- "Decline and Upward" -- the official said that the candidate is not satisfied with the allotted seat; therefore, he/she declines the allotment, but prefers to wait for allotment in the higher order of the student's choice in the ensuing upward movement.

"If the student is unable to get his/her preferred allotment in upward movement, then the candidate will be moved to the next round of the engineering counselling," he added. The official also pointed out that these two new engineering admission procedures will help the students to have more choices.