If the numbers of aspiring engineers qualified in EAMCET-2015 are anything to go by, then engineering education in Andhra Pradesh is surely on a decline.
Web counselling of EAMCET-2015 is likely to take place in August. The number of engineering candidates who appeared for EAMCET-2015 are 1, 28,162. However, as on the last day of certificate verification in Jawaharlal Nehru Technology University (JNTU), Hyderabad, only 62,777 candidates got their certificates verified out of the total 1, 04,373 candidates who cleared the EAMCET-2015.
Certificate verification is a mandatory process for the qualified candidates to get admission into the engineering colleges under convener quota.
“The average turn out for EAMCET this year was 69 percent as compared to 58-60 percent in the previous years. However, among the total qualified, about 62,777 got their certificates verified,” said Mr. B. Srinivas, Camp Officer, Telangana Engineering Admissions Office.
Out of the top 15,000 rankers 10,934 attended the verification process, while another 11,443 attendees were rankers between 15,001 and 30,000.
Nevertheless, 58,906 candidates from the Osmania University region (Greater Hyderabad limits) attended the verification out of the 79,043 who qualified in the EAMCET-2015 from the OU region. The rest are either from other Andhra Pradesh regions or non-locals from the CBSE stream.
Those who have not attended the verification have presumably migrated to the neighbouring states where engineering classes have already begun or have decided to take admission in the IITs, NITs and IIITs.
“Furthermore, this is not the end of the seats that go vacant without takers. Instead, reputed colleges who block the seats for top rankers sell them off in management quota when the rankers give up their seat to take admission in national colleges,” said an official of Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TS CHE).
“This practise is usually associated with top engineering colleges. They first reserve seats in the name of top rankers in the first round of counselling, and later, fill the seats under management quota as the top rankers get good results in other exams and go for national level colleges,” said the TS CHE.
Though the current intake capacity of engineering colleges in Telangana is 1.76 lakh as per the last year’s figures, officials say the number may come down to less than one lakh given the stringent norms being adopted by the JNTUH for renewing their affiliation. Around 40 colleges have already sought voluntary closure while many others applied for reduction in the intake.