Nagpur : The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has reduced the lateral quota of direct admission to second-year engineering courses for students completing diploma course. Earlier, the quota was of 20 per cent which has been reduced to half. It means only 10% of the approved seats from the upcoming academic year (2019-20) would be filled in second year engineering by diploma students.
There are three major courses under Technical education. They are engineering and technology, pharmacy and MCA. The decision of reduction would be applicable to all these three courses. Of course, this decision received not-so-good reaction from all the sectors.
Students who are pursuing diploma engineering courses with a hope to get admissions to direct second year engineering, called as lateral quota felt, the rule should be implemented from the academic year 2022-23. In 2022-23, the present students would be able to take admissions and new students would be aware of the new and would be ready to face the situation.
One top officer in Department of Technical Education (DTE) said, “Already we are facing problems of vacancy in Diploma institutes. We try to convince the students that if they opt for diploma courses they would get direct admission to second year engineering where they need not appear in Common Entrance Test. Now with the decision of reducing the quota we became helpless.”
Dr Anil Sahastrabudhe, Chairman of AICTE said, “There are more vacant seats of first year engineering over and above these 10 per cent seats available for direct second year admission of diploma students than the number of diploma students passing out each year. Why should we bother about 10 per cent? There are 50 per cent vacant seats of first year available for direct second year admission plus 10 per cent supernumerary seats over and above near 7 lakh vacant seats.” He also made clear several states including Maharashtra had demanded to cut the quota so it was done. Maharashtra has 729 diploma institutes with intake capacity of 1,55,302. Last year, nearly 90,000 seats remained vacant.
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