Engineering courses, especially computer science and related courses, have got good demand in the State this year. At the end of CET-2023 counselling, only 3,500 unclaimed government quota seats remained vacant. It was 23,001 in 2022-23 and over 30,000 in 2021-22.
According to the seat matrix issued by the Department of Technical Education, there were 1.2 lakh engineering seats up for grabs in the State for the academic year 2023-24, of which 58,000 seats were government quota seats and 62,000 seats private quota, including management seats. Of the 58,000 government quota seats, 54,500 have been claimed by students.
“This is a good sign. We have already surrendered the remaining unfilled seats to the government. The government will take a decision on the vacant seats,” S. Ramya, executive director, Karnataka Examinations Authority.
Most sought after
This year, KEA conducted counselling for a total of 110 engineering courses. Over 70% of the government quota seats filled this year were for computer science and related subjects. Computer Science Engineering alone had 14,656 students opting for it. Related subjects like Electronics and Communication, Information Science, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning were also in demand. However, traditional subjects like civil and mechanical engineering found few takers. At least eight courses had enrolment in single digits.
K.R. Venugopal, former Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University and former principal of University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering, said this has been the trend for some years now as computer science streams led to more employability. “Many engineering colleges in the State have increased the number of seats in Computer Science and related subjects, cutting down seats in other streams,” he said.
Sole student
Only S. Manoj from Chitradurga opted for Civil Engineering course in Kannada medium at SJC Institute of Technology, Chickballapur. However, like previous years, he also withdrew and has now joined a college offering engineering in English in Davangere. “Once I learnt I was the only student who opted for this course, that too in a college far away from my native place, I withdrew and opted for a college in Davangere,” Mr. Manoj told The Hindu.
