Bhubaneswar, Aug. 1: The government’s efforts to tackle the vacant seat problem at various private engineering colleges of the state has failed to yield any results, primarily because of non-adherence of policy decisions by promoters of private institutions.

The All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) appears to be indifferent to the repeated requests of the state governments not to extend approval for second shifts and new colleges or increase the number of seats in existing colleges, according to government officials.

For this academic session, the AICTE has given permission to 11 colleges for second shifts and has also given permission to open four new engineering schools. The AICTE allowed an increase of 4,000 more engineering seats, four new engineering colleges and second shifts in 11 colleges.

For the fifth consecutive year now, more than 21,000 seats have remained vacant in degree colleges and 15,000 vacancies are there in engineering schools. The second round allotment on August 4 is expected to fill a few hundred more seats and will not make much difference to the numbers.

The Odisha Private Engineering Colleges Association (Opeca) and the Odisha Private Engineering School Association (Opesa) had last year approached the department of technical education, training and employment asking it to take up suitable measures to solve the vacant seat scenario. Considering their request, the the department on November 26 last year, wrote to the AICTE not to extend approval for increase in intake capacity in favour of any institution including private state universities and deemed universities in respect of any discipline .

Only introduction of new disciplines may be allowed against closure of any other existing discipline of equal intake capacity keeping in view that the total intake capacity of the concerned institution will remain same, the department recommended. It also wrote to the AICTE not to allow introduction of additional programmes in favour of any institution and not to grant approval for implementation of second shift programmes in existing or new institutions.

The department asked the AICTE not to accord approval for establishment of new institutions without specific recommendation of the government. However, going against the government’s recommendations, the AICTE granted approval for second shifts, increase of seats, and permission to open four new engineering schools. This year, 11 colleges in the state have managed to get permissions to conduct second shifts.

“When there are no second shifts in reputed institutes such as the IITs and NITs, which have the maximum infrastructure, what is the logic behind allowing second shifts to private colleges despite being informed of the large-scale vacancies,” an official.