Bhubaneswar, March 28: Orissa High Court's order asking the state government to hold the Odisha Joint Entrance examination (OJEE) has brought cheers to the promoters of private engineering colleges but has left the applicants confused.

The lack of clarity on the part of the government following the high court's order has added to the confusion.

A technical education department official said that there would be an official announcement regarding the admission process only after going through the court's verdict.

"After going through the verdict, the government would seek advice from the law department," said technical education secretary Chandra Sekhar Kumar.

The government's position has, however, failed to assure students. "Why don't they decide on these things before? What is the point in coming out with such decisions when the students have already applied for the JEE (Mains) and the OJEE application dates are about to end?" said Prabhas, an applicant.

"I have applied for the JEE (Mains). Do I have to apply for the OJEE too?" said Asin Jena, an engineering aspirant. Jena's confusion reflects the state of many like him.

Surendranath Padhiary, a faculty member of a private engineering college, said: "These kind of decisions delay the admission process and the course duration gets affected. Either the course remain incomplete or are done in a hurry."

An OJEE official said there is no need for a date extension for the entrance test.

"The Orissa High Court's order is a repeat of what happened last year. The examination will be held only if the seats are not filled up after the JEE (Mains) admission process. It will be similar to the second OJEE that happens almost every year," said OJEE secretary Priyabrata Sahoo.

Candidates, who have not applied for the JEE (Mains), now have a chance to apply for the OJEE, he said.

Last year, the Odisha Private Engineering College Association had moved the high court challenging the government's decision to join the JEE (Mains) for admission to BTech courses in the state.

The court had directed the government to conduct the OJEE for students who had not appeared for the JEE (mains) and wished to get admission in BTech courses in the state.

The association has been arguing that the government's move violates the Odisha Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fee) Act, according to which the OJEE is mandatory.

The association argued that students from government colleges in the state are apprehensive of appearing for the national-level examinations as it follows the CBSE syllabus.

There are 100-odd engineering colleges in the state with around 45,000 seats. Only 18,000 seats were filled up last year.