Patna, July 11: The frenzy over doubled seats in colleges under Patna University (PU) is over. The reality is there are not as many takers.

According to the June 23 decision of the state human resource development (HRD) department, the number of seats in most colleges was almost doubled so that more people could afford higher studies. Ironically, most of the seats in these colleges are yet to be filled up.

Patna College, one of the best institutions in the state for humanities, completed the admission process for students whose names had appeared on the second cut-off list today. Of the total 600 seats, only 437 have been filled. The college authorities are now planning to release a third cut-off list in a day. Students who have scored low in their Class XII board exams will get a chance to enrol in this college.

Randhir Kumar Singh, the admission in-charge of Patna College, said: “There are many reasons why seats have not been filled till date. These days, students prefer vocational courses to traditional courses. The university has started many vocational courses that are job-orientated. Students are therefore rushing for these.”

He added that many students had also failed to submit their marksheets, according to the requirements of admission.

The situation in BN College is grimmer. Of the 600 seats in humanities, only 200 had been filled after the admission process of the first cut-off list was completed on July 9. In science subjects, too, only 70 of the 350 seats were filled. Sources said students with scores as low as 45 per cent were also admitted.

M.N. Sinha, a professor at BN College, said: “In the second cut-off list we expect to admit around 275 students. Even then, a large number of seats will remain vacant.”

A senior PU teacher said: “Around 10 years ago, Patna University had a glory which it has now lost. Colleges, as good as the institutions under PU, have come up in other parts of the state. Students prefer to take admission there.”

He added that the increase in the number of seats was not the only reason for the vacant seats. Last year, too, a number of seats under Patna Science College and BN College had remained vacant.

This year, Patna Science College had taken in only 450 students against its capacity of 600 till this evening.

Kashinath, the principal of the college, said: “We are hopeful that seats in the college will fill up, as there are still two days left for the admission process to be completed.”

A senior teacher, however, said: “The infrastructure of the college needs upgrade. Many posts of teachers are also vacant. Students are put off by such drawbacks.”