26947 seats in engg colleges vacant in Odisha
 
Bhubaneswar, Aug 8,2012 : With total 26,947 seats in engineering colleges remaining vacant in Odisha even after two phases of counselling this year, private engineering colleges today urged the government to allow them free hand for filling them.
 
Only 17,242 students have taken admission leaving more than half of the over 44189 seats in 110 engineering colleges, including eight run by the government, vacant. While 23 colleges could attract less than 50 students, the number of admissions in five colleges of the state were single digit figures. One private engineering college found no student at all this time, official sources said.
 
"We have requested the state government for an amendment to Orissa Professional Education Institution Act, 2007 for getting free hand for taking students," Odisha Private Engineering College Association(OPECA) president Binod Dash told reporters here after meeting Chief Secretary B K Patnaik.
 
Rising vacancy in seats in engineering colleges has become a major concern for the state government and OPECA. While 29 per cent engineering seats remained vacant in 2009, it increased to 50 per cent in 2010. Last year, about 60 per cent seats remained vacant in different engineering streams, Patnaik said.
 
The situation is similar for MBA and MCA programmes. In 2009, 58 per cent MCA and 27 per cent MBA seats remained vacant, while a whopping 64 per cent MCA as well as MBA seats remained vacant last year. The state government is worried over the situation and has already requested AICTE not to allow enhancement of engineering seats for now, official sources said. Meanwhile, the government has set up a committee to undertake academic audit in private engineering colleges and verify their facilities. The committee will submit the report to the AICTE, the sources said.