Andhra Pradesh Minister for HRD Ghanta Srinivasa Rao said they would meet the Union Government officials on May 23 and present their case seeking share in 50 per cent of seats reserved for home State quota in NIT, Warangal (NITW).
He said last year more than 200 students from 13 districts of the present AP gained admission in NIT Warangal. So, the Central Government would be requested to pool the home quota seats of both AP and Telangana in the respective NITs and divide them between the students of both States.
“It’s unfair that our students lose a chance to study in such a good institution and opt for a new NIT that will take at least 10 years to establish itself.
Another option is to increase the seats in AP NIT to 370 with eight or nine branches,” he pointed out.
Interestingly, counseling rules of the Seat Allocation Board of the NITs state that only home State students can get admitted in the home State quota.
As per the rules, students who pass their Intermediate from Telangana only would be eligible for the NIT Warangal seats in home State quota thus virtually ruling out any advantage for A.P. students. NIT Warangal was established in 1959 as the Regional Engineering College (REC) and converted into NIT in 2002 as per the national policy.
As per the admission norms of NITs, 50 per cent of seats are reserved for the students of the State in which the institute is located and remaining open for the national quota. Till the bifurcation of united Andhra Pradesh last year, NIT Warangal had 740 seats of which 370 were reserved for the AP students.
After bifurcation the Centre allotted a new NIT for Andhra Pradesh that is likely to have 90 or 120 seats. Students from AP will get half of those seats under the home State quota and none in NIT Warangal, which is a very old institute and has created a reputation for itself.
