Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Anna varsity admission process raises suspicion

CHENNAI, AUGUST 14, 2018 00:00 IST




The Anna University conducts counselling for engineering courses after the Directorate of Medical Education completes the admission process. 

But university officials say procedure is fair and deny allegations of malpractice

Information sought under the RTI has raised doubts on the admission process in the Anna University.

An University employee sought information on students admitted to its various departments in the academic year 2017-2018. He later compared the list with the attendance details of students who had gone to the third semester in July 2018.

“I found that the students’ names in the third semester attendance register did not tally with the list of students admitted in 2017-18,” said the employee who had filed the RTI.

“In the ECE department, of the 180 seats in three batches in College of Engineering, Guindy, there are 39 candidates who did not figure in the 2017-18 admission list given under the RTI. The number is in excess of the permitted NRI quota of 20% of the total seats,” he added.

Usually, the Anna University conducts counselling for engineering courses after the Directorate of Medical Education completes the admission process. Last year, MBBS admission was delayed owing to prolonged court cases and Anna University completed the counselling ahead of the DME.

As a result, when counselling for medical seats was held as many as 500 students vacated their seats in Anna University and its top-rung affiliated colleges in favour of MBBS.

“Anna University’s counselling pattern does not allow for filling up of vacated seats. The university departments do not permit lateral entry in to second year BE. But I found that all seats were filled in the third semester and the attendance register included names of candidates that did not exist in the 2017-18 admission list in some of the most-sought departments like ECE, EEE, Manufacturing and Mining,” the professor said.

An official in-charge of admissions, however, said the new names on the list could be students who opted for ‘break year’.

“Students who join the Anna University generally are toppers and aim for medicine too. In 2016-17, many students took a break to write NEET. It is possible that many of them who did not get a medical seat have come back in the third semester,” he explained.

A professor in industrial engineering in CEG explained that the University is permitted to admit 20% students (12 seats) in addition to the 60 allotted seats in each branch.

“For 60 seats reservations for various communities and sports quota is followed. Students from other States are admitted under Open Category. Within the 20% additional seats 5% seats each are allocated for industrial consortium; wards of NRI parents; wards of those employed in Gulf countries; and foreign nationals. In certain branches like ECE all seats are filled but in some others filling even the permitted intake of 60 is difficult,” he said.

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