Kirrukal

Tamil Nadu's engineering seat matrix for the coming academic year has changed. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has notified a reduction of 4,127 seats in 51 engineering colleges in the State.

The AICTE has decided to cut 1,446 seats in the B.Tech (IT) branch in colleges, 813 in electronics and communication engineering, 679 in computer science and 415 in electrical and electronics engineering, 245 in electronics and instrumentation and 200 in civil engineering.

At the same time, the Board has approved an additional intake of 240 seats in about a dozen colleges. So the total reduction of seats in engineering this year is 3,887 seats.

Tamil Nadu had about 70,000 seats but with the reduction, the seat matrix would come down to about 66,000 plus. In 32 colleges, the intake into B.Tech (IT) courses has been reduced and, in 22, the entire IT intake has been cancelled.

In two institutions, the complete intake for 2005-06 has been cancelled. Even established colleges such as Thiagarajar College (Madurai) and Velammal Engineering (Chennai), have suffered in this exercise.

A notification issued by AICTE on its website (www.aicte.ernet.in) said as part of its mandate to ensure quality, it had prescribed a set of norms for colleges to fulfil while imparting engineering programmes.

This year, the council did a comprehensive inspection of the colleges to appraise the quality of delivery of education. It noted that the inspections/appraisals indicated areas of concern such as faculty shortage, both in terms of quantity and quality; lack of qualified principals; poor pay to teachers or teachers; inadequacy of full-time teachers, laboratories, workshops or library, hostels, internet connectivity; and even basic facilities like drinking water or toilets.

While giving colleges an opportunity to make up for all other deficiencies, the Council this year focussed on the shortage of faculty for the extension of approval for 2005-06.

For 2005-06, new courses or increase in intake has been allowed for institutions which are running existing courses satisfactorily.

There has been no reduction in the sanctioned intake in colleges, which have 75 per cent or more of the required faculty — student ration as per norms (1:15). But a proportionate reduction has been made for colleges that have a faculty strength between 50 and 75 per cent of the required norm. If the faculty strength is less than 50 per cent of the norms, no admission can be made for the course this year.

The notification says institutions can seek to restore their intake if they make up for the deficiency in faculty and intimate the council by July 7 in a prescribed format.

In cases where there are complaints reported at the time of inspection or/and by the State Government, the decision on extension of approval will be separately communicated by June 15.

Tamil Nadu abolishes common entrance test

*Practice of improvement exams discontinued
*Single window counselling system to continue as scheduled
*Simple, straightforward, transparent system, says Jayalalithaa
*New system will give rural students a fair chance
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The Tamil Nadu Government has abolished the Common Entrance Test (CET) for admission to medical and engineering courses from this year. According to a new policy announced by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Monday, admissions to professional courses will, hereafter, be made solely on the basis of marks obtained in the Plus Two examination and the rule of reservation.

The new policy covers admissions to B.E, B.Tech, B.Arch and allied courses, M.B.B.S, B.D.S, B.Pharm and allied courses, B.Sc (Agriculture) and allied courses, B.VSc, B.L and all other professional courses for which entrance examinations were hitherto held. There will be no addition of entrance examination marks for entering professional courses. Also, the practice of allowing students to take improvement examinations has been discontinued.

However, the single window system of counselling for professional courses will continue and counselling sessions will start as per the earlier schedule in July.

`Simple, transparent'


Terming the policy as a "simple, straightforward and transparent system," Ms. Jayalalithaa said, in a press release, that the need for the policy arose as "the CET has now become a traumatic experience for parents and children as it appears to determine at one stroke the future of the child. ... In particular, students from rural areas are affected as the entrance examination operates against their chances to gain admission. If the Plus Two marks alone are relied upon, rural students would stand to get their due share in admissions."

Further, "the entrance examination system has encouraged a pernicious system of `teaching shops' oriented towards urban areas merely to capture high marks in the entrance test. Even the effort to provide a reservation for rural students has not been upheld by the High Court," Ms. Jayalalithaa said.

Having to attend special classes for entrance examinations immediately after the Plus Two course resulted in the students "having to carry an impossible load leading to great anguish and frustration."

Taking into consideration the "requirements of all parents and children [particularly] those from rural areas," the Government found that the "change of system cannot brook any further delay." The new system would make education "meaningful and a platform for real growth and development," she said.

Fresh prospectus


A fresh prospectus would be issued stating that the Plus Two examination was the entrance examination and those who had applied earlier would be treated as applicants under the new system. New applicants can also file their applications and a revised time schedule would be issued separately.

The improvement examination system had been done away with as it had "led to a problematic situation in admissions where a large percentage of seats are cornered by a small number of students who are in a position to take such improvement examination," the Chief Minister said.

src:The hindu

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