The All India Council for Technical Education extended the deadline for approval process by a week on Sunday.
The annual exercise to arrive at increase / decrease in the number is a precursor to the start of admission process for colleges under the council.
A week ago, Anna University issued an advisory to shut down colleges in view of COVID-19 infection for a fortnight. The university had informed colleges that it would provide an additional two weeks to complete the syllabus before announcing the dates for exams.
Several professors said the extension for the semester would not be sufficient to complete the subjects. K. Manivannan, chief executive officer, Mohammed Sathak Group of Institutions, said the first year students were the most affected as their semester began late.
Final year students who had applied for higher studies abroad would also be affected as the admission process for fall semester begins in March-April.
Several colleges have taken to online teaching and learning process to prepare the students. P.S. Srinivasan, principal, Knowledge Institute of Technology, Salem, said the students have been given a timetable to keep them engaged.
The institution has almost completed the course work for second, third and final year students who have been provided a set of question papers to solve and send to the teachers either by e-mail or social media options, he said. D. Saravanan, dean, academics, Kumaraguru College of Technology, said students had been provided the unfinished portion as online material. “It cannot be a replacement for a regular class but only supplement it,” he said.
The director of a college in Chennai said: “We have encouraged faculty to provide classes online. We have asked for a system to place accountability for the faculty so that we will know what the students have done. This system will go on till March 31. We are trying to provide online exams for the students.”
