Admissions for Anna University PG engineering shows decline

The report of the Tamil Nadu Common Entrance Test (TNCA), 2018, for PG admissions showed that a total of 6,736 students called for counselling for various courses including M.E., M Tech and M Arch. Only 3,891 candidates attended the counselling and got their admissions. 

As many as 2,592 students were absent and a total of 253 candidates skipped the counselling. Most of the candidates, who were absent are from general category. Anna University sources said that there are about 19,000 vacant seats are available for PG courses. 

Going by the current trend, it shows about 80 per cent of seats like M.E., M Tech, M Arch and M Plan have no takers and most of the seats are in the private engineering colleges.

A senior staff from Anna University said that the vacant seats will be surrendered to the private colleges for its discretion. The official said that last year more than 21,000 students applied for PG courses.

Experts said only about 5-10 per cent of students, who complete PG engineering courses, are employed appropriately. “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 added. “As there is no skill-based learning, students find it difficult to get a proper job,” Arul Aram said.

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