The Common Entrance Test engineering admission rounds, slated to commence on June 27, have been rescheduled to July 7.
A fresh schedule for successive admission rounds and specific rank-wise dates will be announced later, Minister for Higher Education V.S. Acharya told presspersons here on Thursday.
Blaming the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for not furnishing the seat matrix or finishing its approval process on time, Dr. Acharya said, “The inefficiency of apex bodies in granting formal approval for seats is the main reason for the postponement of counselling to all professional courses.”
Besides, an approval for intake in 39 out of 184 engineering colleges had not been sanctioned. The total number of seats in each college would be known only after June 28, the Minister said.
This is the second consecutive year that admissions have been postponed to July for the same reason.
It is learnt that the AICTE executive committee meeting is scheduled for June 28. When contacted, AICTE officials said they were proceeding according to their national schedule and it was not possible to make exceptions.
Although the AICTE has not conceded the demand to reduce the cut-off from 50 to 45 per cent, it has allowed the Government to consider marks obtained by students in computer science and electronics. With this, 979 more students would be eligible for engineering, Mr. Acharya said.
Students seeking reservation on the basis of family income must submit certificates on July 7. The AICTE has earmarked 5 per cent of the seats as free seats for students from families with annual income less than Rs. 2.5 lakh.
Medical admissions
Although the first round of medical admissions concluded this week, seats in five government colleges and increased intake in two government colleges are yet to get approval from the Medical Council of India.
Dr. Acharya pointed out that seats in dental and ISHM colleges were also awaiting approval from the apex bodies.
