M A I N   N E W S

Thapar refuses new admissions despite seats
Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 15
The Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology (TIET) has closed its door on new admissions despite more than 60 seats falling vacant in various engineering courses in the institute.

The Thapar authorities have taken this decision on the plea that over a month has passed since the start of studies in the new courses and that recently even a mid-term examination was completed in all these courses.

The institute, which is one of the most prestigious ones in the North has vacant seats due to a seat reservation dispute in Punjab Engineering College (PEC), Chandigarh. The PEC authorities announced during the admission process that they would keep only 50 per cent reservation for union territory students instead of the earlier 85 per cent as it had been declared a deemed university. This led to a court case following which the college had to revert to the 85 per cent reservation rule for Chandigarh students.

Meanwhile, even as the dispute was on, a number of Chandigarh students applied for and got admission in the Thapar institute. However, when the 85 per cent reservation clause was upheld, these students shifted to PEC, resulting in the seats falling vacant in nearly all engineering courses of mechanical and electrical engineering, communication and Instrument control systems.

Parents from Punjab have been urging the Thapar authorities to go in for another counselling, claiming their wards should not suffer due to no fault of theirs. Mr Arun Kumar, talking to TNS, said Punjab students who had no right in PEC were suffering due to seat reservation problems in.

He said the delay was not of much significance if the four-year engineering course was taken into consideration. He said the Thapar authorities should adopt a more flexible approach keeping in view the unprecedented situation as they already knew that the students from Chandigarh could leave the institute in case the UT reservation clause was upheld by the high court.

The Thapar Registrar, Brig Paramjit Singh (retd), said the management had decided not to hold further counselling to fill seats. Asked whether the seats would be filled next year through the lateral entrance scheme under which few meritorious students from Punjab polytechnics were given admission in engineering courses, he said the issue would be referred to the management next year.

He said the lateral entrance scheme was sanctioned by the Punjab Government and he could not comment whether all seats would be filled through the scheme.

The present quota under this scheme was very less.

Earlier, the Thapar authorities had claimed that admitting students after the start of various courses could result in low merits for that particular year which would affect its placement record also.