Ranchi, July 2: Counselling for admission into engineering and polytechnic courses kicked off in 32 institutes across the state and at a few participating institutions from outside amid lukewarm response from students who cleared the Jharkhand Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board (JCECEB) tests.

Only 25 and 39 students out of 100 each in engineering and polytechnic studies, respectively, participated in the counselling session on the first day at JCECEB’s Namkum-based centre.

Sources linked the poor response to early results of AIEEE, in which most JCECEB high-rankers have already secured a place. This translates into medium rank holders having the chance to bag a seat in reputable engineering colleges such as BIT, Sindri.

“Today was the first day of counselling and the first 100 on the merit lists of engineering and polytechnic were called. However, only 25 and 39 students, respectively, appeared. We are looking forward to better response in the coming days,” R.K. Singh, JCECEB deputy examination controller, told The Telegraph.

The first phase of counselling is on till July 26. Authorities are hopeful of filling up 3,052 and 4,779 seats in engineering and polytechnic studies.

For the first time, Jalandhar-based Lovely Professional University (LPU) will use JCECEB to take in students. This year, LPU is offering 440 seats in polytechnic studies and 370 in engineering.

Also, Karnataka’s Bhalki-based Rural Engineering College is offering 28 seats and Adityapur-based Indo-Danish Tool Room will admit students through JCECEB counselling.

However, for most students, the top pick is BIT, Sindri, which offers a total of 690 seats. It has the most pocket-friendly fee structure compared to other reputable engineering institutes of the country. BIT, Sindri, charges only Rs 22,000 per annum.

JCECEB is also scheduled to hold Industrial Training Institute entrance tests on July 11.