In a major departure from the past, the State Higher Education Department has decided to take online the entire admission process for entry into B.E./B.Tech courses in nearly 580 engineering colleges across Tamil Nadu for the academic year 2018-19.
Until now, the admission had been based on a single window counselling system conducted centrally at the Anna University. Prior to 2009, the counselling sessions were conducted in a distributed manner in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchi.
Announcing this at a press conference here on Friday, Higher Education Minister K.P. Anbalagan said the move would reduce the stress on students and their parents who till last year had to come to Chennai from various parts of the State for counselling. “There will be 44 Tamil Nadu Engineering Admission Facilitation Centres (TFC) across 32 districts that candidates can approach for both filling up application forms and for attending the counselling,” he said.
Larger districts will have two TFCs and smaller districts will have one. “The centres will be based in government and aided engineering colleges and polytechnic institutions. No self-financing college has been chosen for the purpose,” the Minister said.
Candidates under special categories — eminent sportspersons, the disabled, vocational, SC/SCA and supplementary — will be sent text messages and emails to come in person
During the last admission season, around 1.52 lakh candidates were admitted to B.E./B. Tech courses through centralised counselling in 556 self-financing engineering colleges, 17 constituent colleges, 10 government and three aided institutes.
