Engineering admissions this year are set to be delayed by a few days with the fees issue yet to be settled between the colleges seeking hike and the Telangana Admission and Fee Regulation Committee (TAFRC).
The TAFRC has not yet decided on the dates to invite the colleges for further talks after some of them moved the Court seeking changes in the fee structure. In the midst of this controversy, the government has postponed the second phase of admissions by 13 days in the hope that the issue would be settled by that time.
The second phase of counselling, including booking the slot and entering the options for colleges and courses, will now commence on October 11 instead of September 28. The seats will be finalised on October 16 with the students asked to confirm their seats by October 18.
However, officials maintained that the second phase postponement will not hugely impact the beginning of the academic year though it may be delayed by a few days. The reason for the postponement, they explain is to give enough time for students to test their luck in the IIT admissions, the 4th phase of which is ending on October 11.
The Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) that conducts admissions into NITs and IITs will complete its fourth phase of admissions by October 11 and by that time students will be aware of their choice and whether to join the IITs or come back to the State engineering colleges. Lot of students who join State engineering colleges also move to IITs thus vacating several seats. “We have been scheduling our admissions to ensure that students don’t lose out in the IITs or in the State due to the clashing of dates,” Chairman of the Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) Limbadri said.
Mr. Limbadri said the engineering classes are likely to begin in the first week of November though the exact date is yet to be finalised. “We are hopeful of starting the classes much earlier also if everything goes as per schedule,” he said.
Meanwhile, several colleges that are seeking the revision of fee structure want the process to be completed at the earliest. Classes in private universities in Telangana, AP and Tamil Nadu, where a lot of Telugu students have got admissions, have already begun. Even students are worried as some of their friends were already attending classes in private universities while the government is yet to give clarity in the JNTUH and OU affiliated colleges.
