Government colleges in rural parts of western T.N. find it tough to fill in increased number of seats this year

Government arts and sciences colleges in the western districts, particularly those in rural locations and smaller towns, are reportedly finding it tough to fill in the increased number of seats, following the announcement on a 20% rise in intake for first-year undergraduate programmes last week, by the T.N. Higher Education Department.

Government arts and sciences colleges in the western districts, particularly those in rural locations and smaller towns, are reportedly finding it tough to fill in the increased number of seats, following the announcement of a 20% rise in intake for first-year undergraduate programmes last week, by the T.N. Higher Education Department.

General admission counselling for candidates finished on Friday, June 30, 2023, and colleges have been tasked with the responsibility of filling in the surplus seats before the start of classes on July 3.

Though in a tough predicament, heads of government colleges are hopeful that the vacant seats can be filled to a considerable extent during the ‘Verandah Admission’ schedule from July 4 to 6. As per the schedule, admission counselling for BC candidates will take place on July 4, for MBC candidates on July 5, and for those in the Adi Dravidar category on July 6.

Applications of those who were not able to secure a seat through the general counselling process, and those with relatively high marks will be prioritised, during the Verandah Counselling, according to faculty overseeing the admission process.

Thereafter, on July 7, the seats will be filled through the conversion process: filling in vacant seats specified for certain communities with applications from candidates belonging to other communities.

Some colleges are understood to have exercised the option of confining the increase in intake to 10 percent for laboratory-based programmes.

At the Government Arts College, Coimbatore, the number of vacant seats is minimal in all programmes, including B.Sc. Mathematics which had fewer takers this year. However, government colleges in rural parts are reportedly undertaking outreach exercises to identify candidates to fill in the vacant seats. The Government Arts College, Mettupalayam, for instance, sends faculty teams to education fairs conducted by other colleges, to identify students from rural parts who would benefit from the government scheme to fill in vacant seats.