IITs and NITs will not organise spot admission to fill up vacant seats. Instead, number of counselling rounds will be increased, a Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) meeting in Assam decided last week.

Directors of IIT-Bombay, IIT-Guwahati, NIT-Patna and other officials attended the JoSAA meeting, which also decided to introduce return of registration fee after a minor deduction on withdrawal of a blocked seat.

Earlier, there was talk of engineering colleges individually holding on the spot counselling to fill vacancies after fourth round of counselling. NIT-Patna director Asok De, a member of JoSAA, said: "Instead, JoSAA has now decided to increase number of counselling rounds from the existing four to five or six, depending on number of seats remaining vacant at the IITs, NITs, IIITs and government-funded technical institutions (GFTIs)."

Spot round of counselling meant an institute having vacant seats could counsel students who have cleared common engineering entrance examination to fill up vacant seats.

"This is good. Candidates will be more cautious during counselling," said Kumar Ankit, an engineering aspirant.

JoSAA, which holds counselling for admission into IITs, NITs, IIITs and other GFTIs, also decided that students can now get back registration fee, after a nominal deduction, when they cancel registration of a seat blocked during counselling. Till last year students did not have the withdrawal option. That means, a student who had blocked an engineering seat by submitting a registration fee (Rs 45,000), was not refunded anything even if he or she failed to take admission and the blocked seat was treated as vacant again.

JoSAA coordinator M.P. Singh said: "From this year, if a student blocks an engineering seat in the first round of counselling by paying registration fee at the nearest registration centre, he or she can withdraw the seat any time during counselling and get back registration money." The registration (provisional admission) amount is Rs 45,000 for general category students and Rs 20,000 for SC/ST students. JoSAA would deduct Rs 1,000 and refund the rest into the account of a student who cancels registration. The first round of joint counselling is expected to commence after June 23.

JoSAA is doing this to arrest the problem of a large number of vacant seats after counselling. Last year, over 3,000 seats in NITs and IIITs remained vacant as many students dumped a seat after getting a better seat elsewhere. Gagandeep Singh, an IIT aspirant, said: "Last year, many deserving candidates couldn't make it to NITs and IIITs, as many candidates had blocked seats and cancelled their registration only at the last hour."

Admission into 23 IITs, including five where the session will commence this year, is done based on an advanced test scheduled for May 22. Based on scores in the main examination held on April 3 and Class XII marks, a merit list will be prepared for entry into NITs and other GFTIs.