In a first, 1 lakh vacant engineering seats this year

Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions 2018 Secretary Dr V Rhyment Uthariaraj on Monday said that of the 1.06 lakh students who were called for counselling, only 78,285 students participated and opted for their course of choice. Over 27,000 students didn’t participate in the online counselling, he said.

Of the total number of students who took part in the counselling, provisional allotment was made to 72,648 candidates. Apart from this, 1,953 candidates have been allotted seats through special counselling. There are about 1.78 lakh engineering seats available in about 500 colleges this year. Though 72,648 candidates are expected to join the colleges, 97,980 seats would still remain vacant. Anna University sources said there is a fall in the number of candidates joining engineering courses every year. In 2016, as many as 89,101 candidates were admitted in engineering colleges. The figure went down last year with only 86,355 students getting engineering admissions in the state.

Experts said only 5 per cent of students, who complete engineering courses, are employed properly. “More than 80 per cent of institutions don’t produce quality engineers. Moreover, there are no qualified teachers in many of the colleges,” said Dr I Arul Aram, Tamil Nadu Federation of University Faculty Association president.

Students were enrolled for engineering admission without entrance test and therefore, it is difficult for many to cope with the syllabus, he said. “As there is no skill-based learning, students find it difficult to get a proper job,” Arul Aram said and added that some colleges collect exorbitant fees and students from poor background are unable to enrol for the courses.

Dr Lakshmi Kumar TV, Assistant Professor (Research), Department of Physics Atmospheric Science Research Laboratory, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, said there is no core company here to hire students, who complete mechanical, electrical or electronics engineering. “Only software firms recruit students who complete computer science,” he added.