There are no takers for around 27,000 seats in the government and private engineering colleges after the second phase of the admission process. There are a total of 34,223 seats for students in various engineering colleges, but only 20 percent of them get filled.
So far, 7,100 students have taken admission in the two phases, of the 34,223 seats offered in various government and private engineering colleges in the state.
Following the trend of a low percentage of students enrollment in engineering courses, the Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE) board reduced around 4,073 seats in the 2019-20 academic session, said Manish Tripathy, vice-chairman, OJEE.
“The core streams in most of the colleges are filled; however, there is less interest in admissions in lesser-known courses. The counseling process is ongoing and more seats are expected to be filled through the spot-admission process,” said the vice-chairman.
“Once the counseling process ends, the colleges can admit students following their individual criteria,” Manish Tripathy said.
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Odisha Private Engineering College Association (OPECA) secretary Binod Dash commented that the fall in engineering seats is due to a lack of interest among students in pursuing B.Tech courses as there are fewer jobs available in the field. “In the last five years, only 30 per cent students got placement,” Dash said.
Meanwhile, an official from the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology blamed the curriculum and education pattern of the Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT). A majority of engineering colleges in Odisha are affiliated under BPUT. “The curriculum followed by the BPUT is quite outdated and students, after clearing their Bachelors, failed to get jobs in their desired sectors,” said the official.
However, an official from the syllabus committee of the BPUT said the decline in the number of takers for engineering courses has nothing to do with the curriculum as it has been revised every three years at par with all-India and state varsities.
The official, however, blamed the middle rung colleges for its faculty and infrastructure. “Lots of engineering colleges have come up in the state in recent years, but they could not maintain standards due to their poor faculty. There have been issues of unpaid salaries of teaching staff and lack of infrastructure, which have contributed to falling standards,” the official mentioned.
Meanwhile, AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe informed indianexpress.com that out of 14 lakh engineering seats available across the country, only 10 lakh students take admission. “A committee, formed last year to draft a plan regarding engineering education, found that the number of seats available outnumbers the demand,” he stated.
Courtesy: Indian Express
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