CHENNAI: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) related courses continue to be the most preferred in the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) 2020, so far.
Prevailing unemployment in non-ICT fields, growth in automation, data analytics and Artificial Intelligence and lack of awareness of niche branches is the reason why students are flocking to ICT courses, say stakeholders.
The TNEA committee released the provisional allotment for the second round of counselling on Tuesday. Analysis of the provisional seat allotment data, shows that around half of the aspirants have chosen either computer science, electronics and communication or information technology.
Computer Science continued being the most sought after course followed closely by Electronics and Communication. While Mechanical Engineering has slipped to being the fifth most preferred course, Civil Engineering has only 831 takers so far.
Educational consultant D Nedunchezhian, founder indiacollegefinder.org said that many colleges fail to update the curriculum for non-ICT branches.
Artificial Intelligence course which was introduced this year saw tremendous response, said Sai Prakash Leo Muthu, CEO, Sairam Institutions. A Sridhar, an Electrical Engineering faculty said rampant unemployment and low pay packages in non-ICT fields was the reason behind the trend.
CTET and TET validity extended for lifetime
Chennai: National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has decided to extend the validity of the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) and various state TETs to lifetime. Earlier the validity of various TET certificates was 7 years.
This has been welcomed well by teachers who said that the seven-year validity reduced the value of their experience. The provision would come into effect prospectively and NCTE would take legal opinion for candidates who already have a TET certificate issued from the CBSE or from any state board.