Engineering aspirants, brace for competition, 13,000 fewer seats in Maharashtra this year

While the intake capacity has been shrinking consistently for the past few years, the number of vacant seats after admissions is on the rise

Engineering aspirants in the state will have 13,000 fewer seats to opt for in 2017-18.

The common entrance test (CET) for engineering and pharmacy aspirants was conducted on May 11 and the results are expected soon. (REPRESENTATIONAL PIC)

Figures released by the directorate of technical education (DTE) show the number of seats have dropped from last year’s 1.43 lakh to 1.30 lakh.

“The deadline was extended from April 30 to May 8, but some colleges are still updating the figures. The number [1.3 lakh] might go up by a few hundreds by evening,” said Dayanand Meshram, joint director, DTE.

The common entrance test (CET) for engineering and pharmacy aspirants was conducted on May 11 and the results are expected soon.

While the intake capacity in engineering institutes has been shrinking consistently for the past few years, the number of vacant seats after admissions is on the rise.

Last year, 2.62 lakh engineering aspirants appeared for MHT-CET and all were eligible for admissions. After several rounds of admission, 64,408 of the 1.43 lakh seats were vacant.

The All India Council for technical Education (AICTE) held a meeting with technical directors and other heads of the state in December last year to seek suggestions to improve the situation.

The suggestions included reducing the eligibility criteria for students and a common national level entrance exam, none of which have been implemented.

“There will be only three rounds of admissions ,” said Meshram.

FIGURES FOR MAHARASHTRA

Year	Intake	Vacancy
2009-10	87,646	0.79%
2010-2011	1.14 lakh	18.24%
2011-2012	1.34 lakh	22.92%
2012-2013	1.48 lakh	28.05%
2013-2014	1.54 lakh	33.84%
2014-2015	1.54 lakh	44.30%
2015-2016	1.53 lakh	42%
2016-2017	1.43 lakh	44.78%