The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Unaided colleges to follow last year's formula

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 14, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Unaided colleges to follow last year's formula

Special Correspondent

Colleges' consortium fails to spell out stand on seat sharing Unaided non-minority engineering colleges gave an undertaking to surrender 50 per cent of their sanctioned seats

CHENNAI: Unaided engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday resolved to follow last year's formula for seat sharing with the government and admissions to management quota seats.

While leaders of the Consortium of Professional, Arts and Science Colleges in Tamil Nadu did not actually spell out their stance or resolution at the end of the meeting, members who attended the meeting were seen giving written undertaking addressed to the Commissioner of Technical Education giving the actual break-up.

The unaided non-minority engineering colleges gave an undertaking to surrender 50 per cent of their sanctioned seats to the government (that is filled by the single window system), and the minority-run colleges' undertaking stated that they would surrender 30 per cent of their intake to the government.

The undertaking further stated that the colleges should be allowed to fill the seats `on their own.'

The Consortium office-bearers including president Jeppiaar, secretary P. Selvaraj, and committee members who met newspersons after hectic parleys here, claimed that while the government had spelt out its stance, there were different views from various members on how to share the seats.

(Last Tuesday, the Higher Education Minister, K. Ponmudi had proposed that the colleges surrender 70 per cent of the seats to the single window pool.)

A member of the consortium and M.P., K.V. Thangkabalu said: "Every endeavour is being made to ensure that the process of admission is in line with the government's directive and at the same time eliminate any problem for the students and parents."

Mr. Jeppiaar said: "We are discussing all issues and we will resolve the issue amicably with the government. The Commissioner of Technical Education has asked us to spell out how many seats are going to surrender and this is the only issue we are trying to resolve... ," he added.

Management quota

Members who spoke in private to newspersons refused to comment on the Supreme Court's directive that the management quota seats should be filled only on the basis of a common entrance test conducted by an association of colleges; preparation of a single merit list based on the CET and through a single window mode of admissions.

The college heads say that they wanted a stable policy for the next few years as was followed in the last two years.

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