New software to ensure accuracy in engg admissions

CHENNAI: Taking another step in making use of Information Technology (IT) to bring about reforms in education sector, the admissions for engineering in Tamil Nadu will go high-tech this year. The Higher Education Department has implemented a new software, which could get accurate results on getting a 7.5 per cent horizontal reservation list.

The Tamil Nadu government has implemented 7.5 per cent horizontal reservation to government school students in the State for their admissions to engineering, agriculture, veterinary, law, and other professional degree courses offered in government, aided, and private institutions.

In addition, the government also takes care of tuition, accommodation, and counselling fees of students from government schools who get admission under the newly created 7.5 per cent reservation. A senior official from the Directorate of Technical Education (DOTE), which conducts engineering admissions, told DT Next that the new software will look into all aspects and there will not be any manual work.

In the case of engineering education, there are approximately 1.9 lakh to 2 lakh seats available this year. “If we calculate horizontal reservation in the existing engineering seats, around 8,000 seats would be available for the government students,” the official pointed out.

The DOTE official also said the software, which processes the engineering admissions, will also take care of the latest amendment to the Tamil Nadu Admission in Engineering Institutions Rules, 2007 if more than one candidate has scored the same marks in the common merit list.

“It will get the data of the percentage of marks scored by the student in mathematics, followed by physics, the optional subject, and the percentage of total marks in the qualifying examination to derive correct merit list,” he said adding the software will also clarify that if two candidates have the same scores even after this calculation, their Class 10 marks will be taken into consideration.

“Even as per the latest rules, if that also did not help, then the software will ensure that age-wise senior candidate is given preference in the merit list,” he added.

The official said options will also be available in the admission software if the candidates were also born on the same day, and the random numbers assigned to the applicants would be used to determine seniority in the merit list.