Chennai: With the application process simplified, over 85 per cent students who registered for online engineering counselling on the first day have entered their details on their own instead of going to facilitation centres.
Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) has started online registration of applications for engineering counselling on Thursday. On day one, 7,420 candidates registered their applications for engineering counselling of which 6,370 students registered from outside the TNEA facilitation centres.
Last year over 4,000 students registered their applications on the first day. To help rural students, TNEA has set up 42 facilitation centres across the state.
These centres equipped with high-speed internet connection facilitated the registration of application for the students.
The candidates are asked to fill the data sheets before filling the online application to make it error free. Candidates and parents who visited Anna University on Thursday said the application registration was made very simple. B. Sukumaran from Mayiladuthurai in Nagapattinam district filled his application in just over 10 minutes at the Ramanujan Computing Centre in Anna University, Guindy. “Apart from personal details, the application we have to fill only where we studied from class 6 to 12. The internet speed is also very good and the faculty members cleared our doubts,” he said.
Kumaresan from Kolathur came to Anna University to register the application for his daughter K.Mithra. He termed online registration of application as simple and easy one. “This year even before creating the user id and password we are ascertaining information whether the candidates are eligible to apply based on their nationality and domicile state. They also need to provide details whether they apply under special reservation for sports persons or ex-servicemen or differently abled,” said V. Rhymend Uthariaraj, secretary, TNEA. The officials also provided three payment gateways to pay the application fee through credit card, debit card and net banking.
The candidates can take a print out after providing their personal and academic details. Each TFC is equipped with nearly 100 terminals and other facilities such as drinking water and toilets. Online registration will be open until May 30. Last year, 1,41,077 students applied for engineering counselling.
HC notice to edu secy, anna varsity on Plea to conduct admission via online, offline modes
The Madras high court has ordered notice to the higher education secretary and Anna University on the public interest litigations, which sought a direction to them to conduct admission to engineering colleges for the academic year 2018-19 through both online and offline mode.
A division bench comprising Justices V.Bharathidasan and N.Seshasayee posted after one week, further hearing of the PILs filed by DMK MLA CVMP Ezhilarasan and advocate P.Ponpandian.
According to petitioners, they were shocked to see the notification issued by the Anna University, wherein it was stated that admission for engineering college including filing application, selection of college, counseling etc, will be only through online. There was no manual procedure. They were given to understand that there were various stages involved from filing application form till obtaining admission including counseling. To complete this process, it will take almost four to five months. The various stages including filing application in online, scanning the documents and uploading the scanned documents in the website, selecting colleges etc. These procedures can be followed only by the candidates who has good computer knowledge and not by others, they added.
They said students coming from villages will not have English and Computer knowledge to apply online and to attend online counseling. The procedure prescribed by the Anna university can be followed only by the candidates who was well versed with English knowledge and well acquainted with the online procedure. Further this procedure will take nearly four to five months to complete. Till that time the student should follow continuously about the notification and emails sent by the Anna University. Students hailing from rural areas who have no English knowledge and computer knowledge cannot apply and follow counseling procedure for five months and get admission. Many candidates were first graduate in their family. Many candidates have no knowledge about which course to be taken. Only during counseling the candidates were advised to take the course which was suitable to them depending upon their talents and family background. In online counseling, there will not be any counseling for the candidates by the counselors. The very purpose of the procedure of counseling will be defeated if the same was done online, they added.
