|
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, July 12, 2008
Electronics and Communication Engineering is subject of choice
Over half of 488 students select the stream on first day of
general counselling
ZEROING IN: Students and parents at the admission hall of
Anna University, where counselling for engineering seats for
the general category began in Chennai on Friday
Chennai: Electronics and Communication Engineering was the subject
of choice on the first day of general counselling for engineering
admissions, as well over half of the 488 students allotted seats
on Friday selected that stream.
“I feel there’s good scope in this field…
I want to stick to core electronics,” said Rekhna Rajendran,
ranked number one by virtue of her age, despite sharing the
top score with many others. Fellow top rankers E. Manoj Kumar
and D. Jayendirakarthik, on the other hand, also chose ECE,
but intend to pursue a software career.
Educational consultant Jeyaprakash Gandhi says students are
playing it safe. By choosing ECE, they can be part of the software
boom, but in case IT sector demand drops in the next four years,
they can still opt for a career in electronics and hardware,
he says.
“Last
year, ECE and Computer Science were almost equally popular.
This year, ECE seems to be the predominant choice,” he
points out. While 267 students chose ECE, only 121 chose Computer
Science on the first day, including two of the top 10, while
Information Technology lagged behind with just eight seats allotted.
Electrical and Electronics Engineering, which also has the virtue
of being a circuit branch option with prospects in core industries,
snagged 30 students.
Handing over allotment orders to the top 10 rankers in the morning
session, Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy said the government
had ensured that the new engineering colleges under its control
offered courses in Civil and Mechanical Engineering. These key
core subjects would be given a boost in this way, he said.
Students are not buying that message entirely, going by the
first day’s choices. Only one student chose Civil Engineering,
despite the boom in the infrastructure sector. However, Mechanical
Engineering fared better, with 39 takers pushing it to third
place. “It was my first choice. I never considered anything
else, since this is what I am interested in,” said J.
Pradeep of Erode district, one of the highest ranked students
to choose Mechanical Engineering.
Aeronautical Engineering was also a popular niche option, with
16 seats allotted. One seat each in Chemical, Automobile and
Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering rounded off the
day’s allotment. Although 660 students were called for
counselling, only 490 turned up.
At the end of the day, 73,372 seats were still left vacant,
including the 7,154 seats added to the government quota at the
last minute on Friday morning from the 45 new engineering colleges
which have been approved by the All-India Council for Technical
Education and received affiliation from one of the four Anna
Universities over the last week.
Another 26 colleges are still in the process of inspection and
affiliation and are expected to surrender another 3,500-plus
seats to the government quota over the next few days. Over 1.15
lakh candidates are competing for these seats.
The College of Engineering, Guindy, a department of Anna University,
Chennai, was the top option in terms of institutions, with 301
students making it their choice. While 107 students chose the
Madras Institute of Technology, also a department of the Anna
University, Chennai; 5 students chose other government colleges
in Chennai and Tiruchi. Among aided institutions, PSG College
of Technology took 69 students, while Thiagarajar College of
Engineering took 3. Only three students opted for self-financing
colleges on the first day.
Courtesy: The Hindu
|
| << Back |
|
|
