BHUBANESWAR: After increasing seats in colleges in rural areas of the State, the Department of Higher Education has decided to do the same in junior and degree colleges in urban areas as well from the current academic year.
Like last year, this year also DHE had enhanced the seats in colleges in rural regions last month to accommodate large number of local students who may not shift their base to urban places for pursuing higher education.
But seat strength in urban colleges was not hiked till date due to competition among colleges.
Government junior, degree and autonomous colleges with sanctioned strength less than 256 seats can hike their seats by 20 per cent. Similarly, Government colleges with sanctioned strength more than 256 seats are allowed to increase their seats by 10 per cent.
The colleges have to submit a proposal for enhancement of seats before the Regional Directors of Education (RDE) only after exhausting the original sanctioned strength. Applicants have to submit fresh Common Application Forms (CAFs) to get admission to the enhanced seats. The seats will be allotted based only on merit. Self-financing and residential colleges are not included.
DHE officials said this step is targeted at benefiting the students of urban regions or the ones residing in the outskirts of cities who have not got admissions anywhere.