New engineering colleges to come up this year

Despite thousands of BE seats being vacant last year, the government has gone ahead and agreed for new engineering colleges to come up in the state.

Despite thousands of BE seats being vacant last year, the government has gone ahead and agreed for new engineering colleges to come up in the state.

More than 24,000 BE seats were unfilled in the last academic year as the number of seats available outdid the number of the candidates. But, five proposals to start new engineering colleges in the state for the 2013 academic year have been sent to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) seeking approval.

A source from the Directorate of Technical Education said, “Of the five proposals, two are government colleges to be started in Koppal and Chikmagalur, respectively. Three engineering colleges one each in Bangalore, Mysore and Mandya have been proposed by private institutions like Sharada Education Trust, Kaveri Education Trust and Jnanavahini Education Trust.”

“The department of Higher Education has also given the no objection certificate to start the new colleges for the next academic year, which has already been sent to the AICTE,” the source said.

The proposed government engineering colleges will be set up in Chikmagalur, Minister for Higher Education C T Ravi’s hometown while the second one will come up in Gangavati of Koppal.

M K Panduranga Setty, vice-president, Karnataka Unaided Private Engineering Colleges’ Association, said, “There is absolutely no demand for more engineering colleges in the state. It is going to be tough for the new private colleges to find students and faculty. Nearly 25,000 BE seats were vacant last year and it will be extremely difficult to woo students.”

Supply more than demand

“Seats are completely full only in top 20 private engineering colleges, while other private colleges fail to attract even 30 students. The supply is more than the demand, in this case clearly. If there was high students’ population, then setting up of new BE colleges would be meaningful. Without students and adequate faculty, the new colleges may face difficulty in obtaining accreditation from the National Board of Accreditation,” Setty explained.

To combat the problem of excess BE seats, Minister for Higher Education, C T Ravi,  in March had announced that BSc students with eligibility marks can seek lateral entry to BE courses.

Second year Pre-University students who have appeared for supplementary examination may also seek admissions to BE courses through seats the common entrance test (CET) conducted by the KEA.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com