BHUBANESWAR: The Government agreed to the demand of Orissa Private Engineering Schools Association (OPESA) for conducting second diploma entrance test (DET) for filling up the large number of vacant seats.
The demand of the OPESA was placed before the Policy Planning Body (PPB), regulating the entrance examination for admission into technical and other professional courses, for consideration.
The PPB approved the second DET as per the provisions of the Orissa Professional Education Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fee) Act, 2007.
While allowing the second DET, the Industries Department has directed the Director of Technical Education and Training (DTET) to ensure that the reserved categories are exhausted first from the merit list.
The general category students should be allowed to take admission through counselling only after the reserve categories of seats are filled up.
While 27,854 seats, including NRI quota of 3,539 seats, are available for the first semester admission to diploma engineering courses in Government and private engineering schools and polytechnics, about 11,000 seats were filled up after e-counselling.
Over 13,000 seats remained vacant despite the fact that about 40,000 candidates qualified in the DET-2010. Although 16,117 candidates filled up their choice for engineering courses, only 11,000 took admission.
Though OPESA requested the Government for a second DET and the matter was discussed at a high-level official meeting in the last week of August, many were sceptical about second entrance test as the academic session for the first semester is to start this month.