Tamil Nadu: Engineering counselling new schedule will cut seat wastage

CHENNAI: The revised schedule of engineering counselling and the new rule of joining colleges within seven days of seat allotment is likely to reduce wastage of seats in top colleges this year, experts said.
The higher education department on Saturday issued a revised schedule for general engineering counselling which will start two days after NEET results from September 10.The four rounds of counselling will be held till November 13. Due to the new changes, the general counselling will be held for two months instead of five weeks.
"The current schedule will help to reduce wastage of seats in top colleges. NEET aspirants who are sure of medical seats will not attend counselling this year," said V E Annamalai, principal of SSN College of Engineering.
"Only those aspirants unsure of getting admissions will join engineering courses. So, the number of students leaving BE, BTech to join medicine would be less," said V E Annamalai, principal of SSN College of Engineering,
Due to new changes, the counselling will be conducted for two months. "Though the revised schedule would avoid wastage of seats in top colleges, the beginning of classes for first year students would be delayed. We cannot make students admitted under management quota wait till November," said B Chidambararajan, director of SRM Valliammai Engineering College.
Career consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi said the new changes and schedule would reduce wastage of seats to some extent. "For example, the number of vacant seats may come down from 400 seats last year to 200 seats this year," he said.
However, he said, the academic year would be delayed as the counselling is scheduled till November. Anna University vice-chancellor R Velraj said the current schedule and a new rule asking the students to join within seven days of seat allotment would bring down the vacant seats in the top colleges considerably this year.