A day after the State Government decided to opt for the JEE Main route, the all-India examination, for students seeking admission into engineering colleges in the State, the Odisha Technical Colleges’ Association (OTCA) and the Odisha Private Engineering College Association (OPECA) have taken up cudgels against the Government.
OTCA president Biswajit Mohanty said the Government’s decision is a violation of law. The issue would be discussed with the Government, but if the decision is not changed, the OTCA and the OPECA would take to the streets or knock at the doors of court if the Government does not change the decision.
OPECA secretary Binod Dash said, “The Government’s decision is in violation of the provisions of the Odisha Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fee) Act, 2007. We will urge the Chief Minister to seek the view of the law Department in the matter. If no action is taken, we will take the matter to the court.”
Employment and Technical Education & Training Minister Sanjay Dasburma said the Government is seriously concerned about the large number of vacant seats in engineering colleges in the State and is trying to find a solution to it. “We are hopeful about arriving at a solution through negotiations.”
The Policy Planning Board of the Technical Education Department which met on November 7 to take a final call on Odisha JEE had recommended in favour of all-India examination (JEE Mains) like it was done last year, while leaving the final decision on the issue to the Government.
The OPECA had complained that admission through the JEE Mains had led to poor admission figures, which were “the worst in seven years”. The State had joined the all-India examination in 2013 for the 2014 academic session. It had argued that the number of students taking the JEE Mains test has dropped considerably. While 63,635 students had taken the test in 2012, the number came down to 62,157 in 2013. The fall between 2013 and 2014 was even greater with only 48,221 students taking the test, the OPECA had pointed out.
It may be recalled that despite a special State-level JEE conducted at the behest of the Odisha High Court, nearly 37,000 seats have remained vacant in the State’s 101 private and 10 Government colleges. Only 11,000 students are pursuing technical courses, and in this context private colleges had wanted the Government to revert to the Odisha JEE. However, educationists have welcomed the decision to opt for JEE Mains like last year. They had opposed the move to revert to the old system severely criticising the Government for deterioration of the education standard.
The performance of students in the JEE Mains last year drew criticism over the quality of students. Only 3,202 students had qualified for the JEE Advanced. Ultimately while a paltry 59 from the State could make it to various IITs.