File picture of students appearing for OJEE at a centre in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, June 6: The state has decided to continue with the e-counselling method of admission for students who have cleared the Orissa Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE), but apprehensions regarding its effectiveness still loom large.

E-counselling, introduced last year, had left several students in a lurch, as there were certain confusions and technical snags in the system. This had led to a delay in commencement of classes. However, the state has assured that the defects, which marred the admission procedure last year, would be rectified this time.

“We welcome the decision for conducting e-counselling provided the government ensures us that the problems would not be repeated. But, if it fails, it would again lead to chaos,” Binod Dash, secretary of the Orissa Private Engineering Colleges Association (OPECA) said.

Dash said he had presented a list of 13 problems related to e-counselling that students faced last year.

“We found that there were many reserved seats for SC/ST categories, but students applying for such seats were quite low. Therefore, we want the seats to be transferred to general quota so that meritorious students do not lose out on their chance. The choices for colleges and courses for each student should also be limited,” he said.

Another problem is that of low Internet penetration in rural areas. “Since intimation letters for admissions were sent online and not by post, many students in rural pockets could not know about the counselling dates and other details,” Dash said, adding that the government should undertake a massive awareness campaign in this regard.

The counselling session is likely to begin in the second week of July and complete by the end of August. For this purpose, around 10 nodal centres would be established, as against 16 centres set up last year. Classes are scheduled to begin from the first week of September.

“Last year, due to password hacking of several students, there was rampant manipulation in their choice of colleges and branches. The nodal centres, which are authorised agencies of the government, are expected to check this by handing over a copy of the choices to the students. Although the government would try its best to keep every problem at bay, it remains doubtful if they would be successful,” said R.N. Panda, principal of the Institute of Higher Secondary Education, Bhubaneswar.

This year, the OJEE was held in two phases on May 1 and May 8 and the results were announced on the website on May 26. Chief secretary Bijay Patnaik took the decision on the counselling mode on June 3 after an eight-hour long discussion with experts and various stakeholders.