Lower cut-offs likely for next counselling

VIJAYAWADA

: With a drop in the qualifying percentage in engineering, agriculture, and medical common entrance test (EAMCET) this year, the government is reportedly taking steps to reduce the cut-off marks and allow more

students

to appear for the phase II counselling.

Many private engineering colleges in the state are urging the government to reduce the cut-off qualifying marks for some time as less number of students is turning up for the counselling this year.

However, the officials are concerned that the reduction in cut off marks would

lower

the quality of the exam.

At present, the qualifying mark in EAMCET is 40.

“If the marks are reduced to 37 or 35, more than 20,000 students would join the stream,” said Gadde Raja, secretary at AP Private Engineering College Association.

If National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) could reduce its cut-off marks, EAMCET can also do the same, he added.

“We haven’t received any such communication from the government, but there have been discussions and concerns that reduction would lower the quality of the exam,” said an official at AP State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE).

In the phase I counselling held this year, some 60,943 among 89,592 convener seats across the state were filled. The rest 28,649 seats were left vacant.

However, some seats filled in the phase I counselling have been left vacant due to the JEE counselling. The phase II counselling seeks to fill the vacant seats on the basis of the students’ preferences. In the first phase, around 65,909 students exercised options.

The engineering colleges are giving a common reason that the exam was tougher this time and there has been 12 per cent drop in the number of EAMCET qualifiers as compared to the previous year. Besides, the college authorities are claiming that many students in rural areas could not get through the exam, which was conducted completely online.