Bhubaneswar, July 25: The first phase of admissions into tech colleges was completed last week, but 73 per cent of the seats lie vacant, painting a grim picture of the state of technical education in Odisha.

The extent to which engineering colleges have fallen behind is revealed by how two colleges in Bhubaneswar and one in Rourkela have drawn a complete blank in the admission process. Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE) authorities, which conducts the admission process, also revealed that eight colleges in the state had less than 10 students taking admissions, while another 20 drew less than 30 students.

Of the 45,000 seats available in 101 engineering colleges in the state, only 11,029 have been filled up after the first round of counselling. These include seven government colleges, which have a capacity of 4,000 seats - all of which have been filled up.

However, the private colleges continue to struggle and vacancies are swelling every year.

OJEE chairman Tushar Kant Nath said a few more seats were expected to be filled up after the second round of counselling for OJEE-2016, which is scheduled for July 30. The final allotment for these candidates will be completed on August 10. The second counselling session will be held only for rank holders of JEE-Main 2016.

Figures from the past three years reveal how engineering colleges have failed to fill vacancies on a consistent basis. While 24,988 out of 45,844 seats remained vacant in 2013, around 30,494 seats of 46, 369 could not be filled in 2014. Similarly, 27,786 seats out of 46,425 were left vacant in 2015. Incidentally, the private colleges, under the Odisha Private Engineering College Association had approached Orissa High Court seeking a "special OJEE" for students who had not taken the JEE (Main) - the national-level entrance examination for admission into BTech courses in the state.

The colleges had argued that many students living in the state's interior pockets were unaware of JEE (Main) and many others could not keep track because of poor Internet connectivity. The colleges pleaded for a "special OJEE" for students who had not taken the JEE (Main) but were interested to study engineering.

This is the third consecutive year that the high court has directed the state government for a "special OJEE" to fill vacant seats. The high court ordered a "special OJEE" on July 31 for admissions against vacant BTech seats and other professional and technical courses in the state.

There will be around 10 examination centres for the second state-level test in Bhubaneswar.

"We are hopeful that the special OJEE will help fill up at least 6,000 seats," said OJEE secretary Binod Dash.

Academics and professionals expressed their opinion about the poor state of engineering education in Odisha.

"It's time that private colleges improved the quality of education and deliver the promises they make to students. They lure students with the promise of jobs in big companies but are unable to place them. This damages the reputation of the college. The colleges must also understand the importance of good teachers and invest in them," academic Santosh Tripathy said.