Karnataka State wants AICTE to restore Engg eligibility Cap at 45%
Karnataka has decided to approach the All-India Council for
Technical Education (AICTE), seeking cancellation of the change in the eligibility
cap for engineering courses.
Principal Secretary of the Higher Education Department Latha Krishna Rao will meet
AICTE officials on June 10 to present the state government's view on the issue,
higher education minister V.S. Acharya told reporters here on Wednesday.
This year, only 60,543 candidates are eligible for engineering seats in the state,
against the 71,639 last year.
That is because the All India Council for Technical Education
(AICTE) revised the eligibility slab for aggregate marks in Science subjects
from 45% to 50% for engineering seats.
While the revision has its own benefits, it would hit the not-so-popular colleges
in the state that are struggling with vacant seats. Besides, it would deny a huge
lot of students the chance to pursue an engineering course.
Eligibility for SC/ST students was also increased to 45% from 40%. "Due to this,
about 17,000 students have been denied CET rankings this year. So we fear that this
may lead to further increase in the number of vacant engineering seats in the state,"
the minister said.
Acharya said that there were plans to set up three new engineering colleges in the
state, including one in Bangalore. "We are waiting for the approval of AICTE to
start the new colleges."
HC notice on 5% raise
Justice S Abdul Nazeer of the Karnataka high court on Wednesday, 8th June 2011 ordered
notices to the Department of Technical Education, the Karnataka Examination Authority
(KEA), Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) and the All India Council for
Technical Education (AICTE) in connection with a petition filed by a young woman,
Anusha, challenging the notification issued by the department of technical education
and the VTU on March 21 and April 27, respectively.
These notifications were issued to alter the eligibility criteria for admission
to undergraduate programmes, and also notified that henceforth, students who have
studied electronics and computer science would not be eligible for admission to
the Bachelor of Engineering degree courses, with specialisation in computers or
electronics, in which they are required to also study physics and mathematics. Anusha
said that the notifications were illegal and arbitrary.
"Very strangely, students who have studied a PMB (Physics, Mathematics, Biology)
combination are enabled to seek admission to technical courses, while students who
studied core technical subjects of Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science are
denied the opportunity," Anusha claimed in her petition.
Courtesy: DNA India
