Anna university can fill 400 engg seats

Anna university can fill 400 engg seats

State Allows Counselling Again After Neet Results

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:26.11.2021

The state government has allowed a second phase of counselling to fill 400 engineering seats on Anna University's four campuses that fell vacant as the selected students opted for MBBS.

Usually, these seats (700 last year) in reputable colleges remain vacant. For the first time, the higher education department on Thursday allowed counselling to fill them. "The huge vacancies affected Anna University's NIRF ranking 2021 in which it slipped by four ranks in engineering and university categories compared to 2020. Now, the second phase will give the opportunity to meritorious students to study at the university's four campuses. It will improve the university's ranking and rating points in NAAC accreditation," an official from Anna University said.

"This second phase of counselling can be done after giving a reasonable time to pool vacancies in colleges," said higher education secretary D Karthikeyan in the order permitting it.

The government asked the director of technical education to conduct second phase counselling for students already registered and admitted to fill these vacancies and to conduct subsequent phases of counselling if the need arises.

Sources said the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions committee is likely to conduct at least two rounds during the second phase, first to fill the existing vacancies and the second round to fill new vacancies. As per AICTE's revised academic calendar, the last date to admit new students is November 30.

"Those who have already registered and enrolled alone will participate in the second phase counselling. So, the last date won't apply to this counselling," a source in the higher education department said.

Of 95,000 students who got allotment in Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions 2021 counselling, around 10,000 have not joined the colleges, the source added.

Top colleges said it's a good move as they would get a larger pool of candidates to fill vacancies.

"As per the usual practice, the self-financing colleges were allowed to fill lapsed seats from their applicants. In this second phase of counselling, top colleges may get better candidates from the larger pool," said V E Annamalai, principal of SSN College of Engineering in Chennai.

Meanwhile, engineering colleges are worried that internal counselling will leave more vacant seats in tier-2 and tier-3 colleges.

"If the second phase counselling allows fresh students also to apply, it would boost the admissions. Giving upward movement will affect even top colleges as students will prefer government institutions over private colleges. Tier-2 and tier-3 colleges may have more vacancies as students want to move to tier-1 colleges," said P Selvaraj, secretary, Consortium of Self-Financing Professional, Arts and Science Colleges in Tamil Nadu.

Hundreds of seats in reputable engineering colleges fall vacant every year as students who joined leave once they get admission to MBBS and BDS courses