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The Odisha Private Engineering College Association (OPECA) has requested the State Government for permission for not participating in JEE (Main), instead to conduct OJEE for admission to BTech First Year from 2018.
In a letter to Skill Development and Technical Education Department Secretary Sanjay Singh, the OPECA said for last eight years the vacancy position in the BTech course is alarming and in last one year after Odisha joined JEE (Main), the vacancy position has increased from 50 per cent to more than 75 per cent.
As such, the engineering colleges are badly affected due to such low admission and the question of their sustainability has arisen, the OPECA said.
Out of 29 States and seven Union Territories, only six States, Nagaland, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Odisha, admitted students from JEE (Main)-qualified candidates.
The majority hold their own State JEE which reaches all the students and hence is prevalent since 20 years. Moreover, neighbouring States and States pioneer in technical education like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra, where a majority of engineering colleges in the country are located, are not a participant of JEE (Main).
Further, JEE (Main) does not open sufficient numbers of examination entres in the State; hence, many students are unable to appear the at examination, the OPECA argued.
