MADURAI: The TNEA 2025 counselling for admissions to Anna University and engineering colleges affiliated to it is a good one month away but seats in several self-financing institutions in the southern districts are already filling up fast as parents willingly shell out as much as Rs 8 lakh demanded in capitation fee to secure admission for their child in the management quota.
The principals and deans of various colleges, besides aspirants and their parents, TNIE spoke to say the interest this time is towards BE (Computer Science Engineering) and BTech (IT) programmes. Programmes in Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE), Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) and Mechanical Engineering are the next preferred courses, while civil engineering is the least preferred. Self-financing colleges accordingly demand capitation fee for securing admission, with a BE (CSE) seat said to be priced at Rs 8 lakh.
N Mahesh, a parent who enrolled his son in a popular college in the city said, “I handed over Rs 6.5 lakh in capitation fee within a week of the Class 12 results being published. If I booked early, a payment of`4 lakh would’ve been enough.” This is over and above the prescribed annual course fee of Rs 1.30 lakh, he added.
His son’s TNEA cut-off score is 119 on 200. P Srivathsan said that his parents “reserved” a seat in the BE (CSE with cyber security) programme at a popular college in the district for him by paying Rs 2 lakh as ‘advance’.
Meanwhile, a professor at a popular government-aided college said, “Those who have a cut-off score above 160 can through TNEA counselling secure admission to the CSE programme in grade A self-financing colleges, and even in government and government aided colleges.
Every engineering programme has its own future and campus placement interviews are common for all streams, with even mechanical engineering students securing placement in IT companies. Everyone should secure seat through TNEA counselling. But it may be difficult to realise their preference of course and college. Exploiting the insecurities of the aspirants and their parents, self-financing colleges are collecting up to Rs 4 lakh from them to secure a seat in their electrical engineering course and up to Rs 3 lakh for a mechanical engineering seat.”
Mentioning there being over 500 engineering colleges in the state, a majority of which are in rural areas, Anna University former vice chancellor Prof E Balagurusamy said, “Nearly 40% of colleges are not worth it. If the (TNEA) cut-off score is less than 50%, do not consider joining engineering courses.”
“Students need to choose a course depending on their interest and aptitude. Do not yield to parental and peer pressures or the current popularity of the course. Considering cut-off and investment capacity, select at least five colleges where the course of one’s interest is offered.
Rank the selected colleges based on faculty, infrastructure, support facilities, extracurricular activities, pass-out percentage, placement, etc.” he added. A personal tour of the campus, including its labs, library and hostels is essential. Most colleges are run as a business model, he also said.