Orissa High Court. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 19: Orissa High Court’s decision to introduce an eligibility criterion for admission into technical courses under the Orissa Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE)-2011 has evoked mixed reaction from students.

A large number of aspirants have welcomed the decision. “This step will help maintain the quality of education imparted by the technical colleges. An eligibility criterion to filter out the deserving students for admissions is a must. If a candidate has failed to secure 45 per cent marks, how can he or she cope with something as tough as engineering,” said Sambit Tripathy, an aspirant of engineering.

The aspirants are also heaving sighs of relief as the seat allotment process will now be completed without further hiccups.

“It’s been over a month since the choice locking was completed. I hope there will be no more obstacles in the admission process. The academic session in some of the engineering colleges have already started and we have to work really hard to catch up with them,” said Jharana Tripathy, another aspirant.

On the other hand, the decision had closed the door of possibilities for aspirants, who have secured less than the minimum marks now required. “This decision has been very harsh on students who had been preparing for technical courses for one year. Someone like me, who does not have marks to match, has to look for some avenues and possibly, would be forced to lose another year,” said Pratyush Samantray, a management aspirant.

Most of the private engineering colleges are also sceptical about a large number of seats going vacant this year too. “Last year, nearly 18,000 seats had remained vacant in various colleges. This time round, only about 21,000 students had participated in the choice locking process, but the number of seats available is nearly 38,000. With this decision, the number of vacant seats will be as high if not more than last year,” said the principal of a city-based engineering college. However, OJEE authorities maintained that this decision would do a world of good to boost the quality of education in the state. “It is no doubt a good decision as only deserving students will get admission and the standard of the courses will be maintained in the long run,” said Priyabrat Sahoo, secretary of OJEE.

With this new rule, only 1,200 aspirants will lose out on admissions, he said.

“We are trying to publish the list of eligible candidates and will complete the counselling process without further delay,” he added.The list for the first round of seat allotment will be published this evening on the OJEE website (www.odishajee.com). Accordingly, aspirants have to deposit part admission fee at any one of nodal centres between August 290 and 25,” Sahoo said.