| Friday, Sep 19, 2008
More rural students go for engineering
Ponmudy cites abolition of entrance test, cut in qualifying
marks as reasons
Tiruchi: The abolition of the entrance examination, coupled
with the lowering of the qualifying marks by five per cent for
the backward sections, has resulted in a phenomenal increase
in the number of rural students entering engineering colleges
in the State, Minister for Higher Education K. Ponmudy said
on Thursday.
Inaugurating the Dr. Kalaignar Arts and Science College at Lalgudi,
a constituent college of Bharathidasan University, he said the
number of rural students joining engineering colleges had increased
from 18,000 during 2005-06 to 50,500 this year. The number of
engineering colleges had also gone up correspondingly, from
235 to 353. The number of seats was poised to exceed the one-lakh
mark from the current 95,808. Barring a handful of colleges
that were under watch to prevent commercialisation, most engineering
institutions were eager to admit students for amounts even lesser
than the government-specified fee of Rs.32,500, since there
were 7,000 vacancies even after the counselling ended.
Thanks to the 3.5 per cent reservation for the minorities in
the backward class quota of 30 per cent, the number of Muslim
students admitted to engineering colleges had gone up from 610
to 2,565, and that of Christian students from 861 to 2,757.
In arts and science colleges, the introduction of shift system
had facilitated admission of 6,74,486 during 2007-08, compared
with 5,68,226 during 2005-06, Mr. Ponmudy said
Fifty out of the 67 government arts and science colleges were
started when Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi was at the helm,
he said. Since he assumed office 2.5 years ago, the number of
arts and science colleges had gone up from 670 in 2005 to 860
and that of polytechnics from 212 to 264, and sanction had been
obtained from the Centre for setting up the Central University
at Tiruvarur, the Indian Institute of Management in Tiruchi
and a World Class University in Coimbatore.
Presiding over the function, Transport Minister K.N. Nehru said
the new college would be a boon to the people of Lalgudi that
already has an agricultural engineering college, a cooperative
polytechnic and a women’s ITI. Forest Minister N. Selvaraj
said the industrialisation of Tamil Nadu was a corollary to
the increase in higher educational opportunities.
B.A. Tamil, B.Com, B.B.A., B.Sc. Computer Science and B.C.A.
will be offered in the new college, said M. Ponnavaikko, Vice-Chancellor,
Bharathidasan University. Classes will begin on October 10.
Courtesy: The Hindu
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