CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Engineering Admission (TNEA) counselling for general category students began on Monday, with candidates of ranks between 1 and 14,788 taking part in the first round.
Experts have advised students to mark their choices very carefully and provide maximum number of options, as competition is quite tough this year. They have also alerted students, especially rural candidates, not to fall prey to touts or gimmicks of private engineering colleges.
“Every year, we have noticed that as counselling starts, representatives of some private engineering colleges reach the doorstep of candidates and offer to help with filling in their choices. Students should not rely on anyone and choose on their own. If they are facing internet issues or any other problems, they can visit the nearby TNEA facilitation centre (TFC) and get help,” advised career consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi.
According to experts, just like previous years, Computer Science and IT courses will be among top choices of candidates. “These two subjects have been ruling the roost for the last few years and this year, the craze for these courses has increased manifold as digitisation has become the buzzword during the pandemic,” said a professor of Anna University.
The candidates can make their initial deposits online till September 30, and after making the payment, can fill in their choice of courses and colleges from October 1 and 2. The tentative allotment will be made for candidates on October 3 and after getting confirmation from students, provisional allotment will be made on October 5.
TNEA officials said elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure hassle-free counselling. The month-long counselling process will be concluded after five rounds. “At least 8,000 students have paid the initial fee on the first day. We have opened 50 TNEA facilitation centres across the State. Students can visit these centres if they face any problem in counselling process,” said TNEA secretary, T Purushothaman.