38% engineering seats at Panjab University find no takers - Hindustan Times
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38% engineering seats at Panjab University find no takers

By, Chandigarh
Feb 19, 2023 03:04 AM IST

As many as 329 of the 875 seats offered by Panjab University two engineering institutes have remained vacant in the 2022-23 session

As many as 38% seats in the under-graduate (UG) engineering programmes offered by Panjab University’s two institutes have remained vacant in the 2022-23 academic session.

Faculty members at the institutes attribute the poor intake to the delayed Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) last year. (HT)
Faculty members at the institutes attribute the poor intake to the delayed Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) last year. (HT)

As per the admission data shared by the varsity, of the total 875 engineering seats available at its University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET) and Dr SS Bhatnagar University Institute of Chemical Engineering and Technology (UICET), 329 found no takers in the current session.

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Faculty members at the institutes attribute the poor intake to the delayed Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) last year.

While PU started engineering admissions for the session in July 2022, the JEE Advanced results were declared in September 2022, which led to students opting for private colleges in the region. Classes at PU began in October.

“Due to the delay in JEE last year, counselling for admissions at government colleges across the country was delayed. On the other hand, private colleges admit students without a JEE score, leading to students’ migration in 2022-23 session,” said JK Goswamy,director, UIET.

However, Goswamy added that as JEE was being conducted timely in 2023, the intake was expected to improve this year. After JEE Main exams in February and April, JEE Advanced is scheduled in June 2023.

In the 2022-23 session, 329 engineering seats at PU’s two institutes found no takers. (HT)
In the 2022-23 session, 329 engineering seats at PU’s two institutes found no takers. (HT)

Biotechnology course at UIET sees lowest intake

Between PU’s two engineering institutes, 45% seats have remained vacant in the three UG programmes offered at UICET, while 35% seats are vacant in the six programmes at UIET.

Though admission figures show that seats have remained vacant in almost every course at the two institutes, the lowest intake was seen in UIET’s biotechnology engineering programme, with only 13 of the 97 seats getting filled, leaving 87% seats empty.

Then only nine students got enrolled in UICET’s chemical engineering-MBA course for which 43 seats were available, leading to 79% vacancy.

As many as 71% seats are still unoccupied in UICET’s food technology engineering course as well, with only 10 students opting for the 35 seats.

More than half the seats are left vacant in UIET’s mechanical engineering course, where 45 (46%) students took admissions against 97 available seats.

A faculty member at UICET, wishing anonymity, said, “The low intake in two UG courses at UICET is alarming and may even lead to closure of the courses. The university should take immediate measures to improve admissions in the upcoming session.”

Electrical engineering course most popular

While none of the courses saw 100% enrolment, the electrical and electronics engineering course at UIET received the highest admissions. Of the total 97 seats, 83 were filled and only 14% were left vacant.

Another sought-after course was IT engineering at UIET, where 107 of 129 seats were taken and 17% remain vacant.

The electronics and communication engineering course at UIET saw the third-best enrolment with 111 students enrolling against 144 seats (23% vacant).

The chemical engineering course at UICET came in next, as only 24% seats are vacant with students taking up 80 of the total 104 seats.

The enrolments in the normally-popular computer science engineering were placed fifth out of the total nine courses at the two institutes. Here, 32% seats are unoccupied four months into the session with 88 of the total 129 seats getting filled.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Dar Ovais is a Chandigarh-based Hindustan Times correspondent who covers higher education.

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