A JEE counselling centre in Bhubaneswar (file picture)

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 27: The Policy Planning Board’s recommendation that private engineering colleges of Odisha be allowed to conduct their own counselling session for admissions from next year does not seem to have gone down well with engineering aspirants and academicians.

There is a general feeling that this proposal, if accepted by the state government, might address the “vacant seat” syndrome in engineering colleges, but there is also a great possibility that private institutions would exploit their students if it comes into force.

Principal of BJB (Junior) College, S.N. Mohanty said: “When it comes to private colleges, there is always an element of distrust among people. This year, so many seats remained vacant because of various reasons, including non-availability of students. A separate counselling cannot solve this problem.”

Mohanty added that deemed universities shouldn’t be allowed to conduct their own entrance tests and admissions. “There should be a common counselling process for all government and private engineering colleges. A selection committee must be constituted to screen the students on the basis of merit. A college adopting marketing strategies to attract students is against the spirit of education,” he said.

“Individual counselling by the colleges would decrease the competitive spirit among students and lead to deterioration in the quality of education,” said Titikshya Mohanty, a Class XI student. “Aspirants would become callous and would not work as hard as one should to get into government colleges, which are better than the private ones any day. Even non-deserving candidates, who want to study engineering at any cost, would get admission through management quota by paying a huge amount,” she said.

Another student, Mohammad Asif said the recommendation would give unwarranted power to the private institutions while satisfying the aspirations of students, who do not have the aptitude to study engineering.

“It would be easier for private colleges to dupe students with false promises. Most of them boast of a world-class infrastructure, high teaching quality and 100 per cent placements. But the reality is very different,” Asif said.