Glitch in DTE portal derails online engg admission process

Bhopal: Online admission counselling in engineering colleges turned harrowing for aspirants across Madhya Pradesh as most of them could not enter their choices because of server issues with the directorate of technical education (DTE). Students said the glitch was such that the portal was closed for the majority of the time on Thursday. Students and teachers said that the glitch in the website of the DTE seems to have become a perennial problem every year and it has defeated the purpose of online counselling. “Despite the online process, students come to Bhopal and they stay here for many days to ensure that they get admission in a good college, but here also they are getting nothing due to a glitch in the portal,” said a college employee, who handles admission. Another faculty said that the situation has irritated the students so much that several of them have gone back to their places. “This is a serious problem. Engineering colleges are already in trouble due to poor admission and such incidents have demotivated the students on a large scale which will affect the admission strength in the colleges,” said another faculty.Even students are also not happy with the glitch in the portal. “I am afraid how the DTE would handle other technical issues if they are not able to handle their own portal properly. This is not done,” said a student, Vaibhav Chaturvedi. When contacted, the DTE officials did not respond to the calls. Admission in B.Tech in Madhya Pradesh is mainly based on the score in JEE Main, a national-level entrance exam conducted by National Testing Agency. However, candidates without JEE Main score can also apply for admission to BTech courses in Madhya Pradesh.Once the allotment procedure based on JEE Main score is completed, the remaining seats will be allotted based on merit in their 10+2 examination.