Maharashtra: Syllabus trouble for second-year direct entry engineering students

Admissions to first-year professional courses were hit with constant delays this year and students are still bearing the brunt of it

Admissions to first-year professional courses were hit with constant delays this year and students are still bearing the brunt of it. Among these are the direct second-year engineering (DSE) entry students who are faced with the task of completing the entire year’s portion in less than six months, while their batch mates have already finished a semester.

Representational picture. (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

DSE students are those who opt for a three-year diploma in technical education after the completion of Class 10 board exams and are then allowed direct or lateral entry into second-year engineering courses. Maharashtra, at present, has over 750 such diploma institutes with an intake capacity of around 1.5 lakh seats.

“Unlike the first-year engineering admissions which got delayed, the regular second-year engineering batches started their lectures on time in October, last year, and completed their semester-three exams as well. Our admissions through the state common entrance test (CET) cell ended only in February, by then our batch mates had finished semester-three and we’re studying for semester-four,” said a student on condition of anonymity. He added that while their batch mates have six subjects to study for the current semester, DSE students will have to study 12 subjects from semesters three and four at the same time.

The Maharashtra Students Welfare Association (MSWA) has now approached the University of Mumbai (MU) seeking clarity in this matter. “The DSE students are worried that they might have to appear for exams for both semesters within six months, and this is something the university should have thought through in advance. What’s worse is that after repeated requests, the MU examination department has not yet clarified the examination schedule for this batch,” said Vaibhav Ekde, president MSWA.

The MU examination department is still working on exam dates. “The exam for semester-three DSE students will mostly be held in the month of April, we will release the schedule soon. Students will have enough time to prepare for their exams of both semesters,” said Vinod Patil, director, board of examination and evaluation, MU.