CM Devendra Fadnavis seeks report on vacant seats in engineering colleges

Fadnavis has asked for a report on the total number of seats, admissions and vacant seats in the engineering colleges over the last four years, i.e., from academic year 2012-2013 to 2015-2016.

“The chief minister is the head of the committee and since a new education policy is being drafted for the state, it is important to take stock of the existing situation. Hence, a report of the last four years in terms of vacant seats has been called for. It will give some idea of the present state of affairs and lacunae,” said Dayanand Meshram, state joint director of technical education.

The process of collecting information for the report began recently. The initial deadline was set for October 31. The information on vacancy in many colleges has been put online by regional DTE offices. The affiliated institutes have been asked to confirm the data. However, given that not all institutes have sent their data, the process is likely to take a few more days, said DTE sources.

The Indian Express had reported on the sorry state of affairs in the engineering colleges where rising vacancies point towards a need for a complete overhaul. The number of applications and final admissions for the engineering seats have been dropping consistently across the state. With 121 of the 376 engineering colleges in the state located in Pune, the situation is even more grim here. This has been attributed to the sprouting up of technical institutes across Maharashtra for the past several years.

According to DTE officials, this year, only 25,000 applications were received from students, seeking admissions to the 58,710 engineering seats in the 121 colleges in Pune, which is less than 50 per cent of the total seats.

Across the state, 1.07 lakh candidates had submitted application forms. However, the total intake capacity is 1.56 lakh seats. In 2014-2015, 1.06 lakh applications had been received. In 2013-2014, 54,614 seats remained vacant. Of the 1,62,159 seats available in the state colleges, 1,07,545 seats were filled.
“It is a good sign that the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has stopped giving approval to new colleges in the recent past. It’s not like this situation has built up suddenly. It has been an issue for the past couple of years. There is an urgent need to correct this situation. Hopefully, if the chief minister intervenes, at least some corrective measures will be set in place. If you ask me, rather than letting these colleges run individually and suffer losses, they should be made into a cluster in a particular area and offer courses, combining their resources and strengths, and hence reduce vacant seats,” said the principal of a city-based engineering college.

Before Yuvraj started his professional level coaching under US-based player Brad Ripple in 2011, his father was his mentor and coach. To encourage his love for stunts, Sandeep gifted him an ATV 50 cc bike when he was 6. However, he soon realized that his son’s grasping capacity demanded training from a skilled professional. “He was so particular about his training that he used to wake us up at 4.30 in the morning to take him to the training ground in Lullanagar. I used to feel very proud when people halted to see his stunts and applauded for him,” says Swaroopa.

To motivate their son further, the couple imported a KTM 50 cc bike from Dubai. “He quickly adapted to 65 cc and went to win several prizes in the category,” Swaroopa says.

His performances caught the eye of Patel, who recommended him to Atul Ajmera, chairman of I-land racing academy for sponsorship. Since then, Yuvraj has come first in 14 of the 16 international events he has participated in. “He has got a high class record in international events. Children usually take a lot of time to adapt to international standards and conditions. They come in top five after several attempts, but this kid is breaking all the stereotypes. He just wins the event. Believe me, it’s very tough to compete with Russians and Italians as they’ve mastered these events for years. But Yuvraj does it all easily. I think in future, he’s a serious contender for international championship,” says Patel.

Now studying in sixth standard, Yuvraj has also had severe injuries, but they don’t keep him away from the sport. “He had broken his collarbone a few years ago. As a mother, I was worried about his recovery. I told him to quit racing and pursue any other sport. But he told me that many champions have suffered through falls and injuries, broken their tailbones and collarbones and yet succeeded. When he’s not training, he watches the videos of bikers to learn their tricks. His passion for the sport is mind-boggling. He just has one dream, he wants to make India proud,” says Swaroopa.