Bhubaneswar, Feb. 20: A whopping 26,000 students have registered for OJEE 2013 in the first week after the process commenced.

“A record number of candidates have registered, proving the popularity and acceptability of the online mode. The numbers have reached 26,030 as of now and are continuing to increase,” said secretary, OJEE, Priyabrata Sahoo.

Registrations for the entrance began on February 13.

“The good news is that we are getting a huge response from outside the state, such as from Bihar, Jharkhand and Bangalore. Many are also registering from far-flung districts such as Malkangiri and Koraput,” he said.

Authorities also said very few calls had come on their helplines. “The number of calls are negligible, suggesting that the software is hassle free,” Sahu said.

This is the first time that the OJEE authorities have made forms available online. The ‘green’ OJEE was intended to make the process a paperless one, as in neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh and Bengal. The last day of online submission and registration is March 20.

In an effort to make the online process easier for students, the department of technical education has directed all engineering colleges, schools, polytechnics and ITIs under its fold to double as facilitation centres for students facing difficulties in filling up the OJEE forms.

Students finding it difficult to fill up the online forms have been asked to walk into any nearby facilitation centre for help. The help centres in the computer science and IT department of the college will have Internet facilities and faculty members will guide the aspirants on the application process, a senior government official said.

Most colleges have already deputed their staff in major towns to help students with the admission process.

“We do not trust the Internet in those areas and so the few students who we have convinced for admissions into our colleges are being given all facilities to fill their forms without any difficulty. Our staff have been sent there to ensure that they complete the registrations without hitch,” said the admission-in-charge of a private engineering college.