Engineering admissions: colleges in western districts fare better

An analysis of admissions to engineering courses in the current academic year reveals that colleges in the western districts of Tamil Nadu have even performed better than those in the State’s capital region.

Through the single-window counselling held by the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA), 2024, committee, the colleges in the western districts filled 83.85% of their seats, as against the Chennai region that only filled 75.61%.

“Colleges that invest in infrastructure and faculty have benefited,” R. Velraj, former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University, said. According to him, of the 50 good colleges in the State, half were from the western districts, and only a handful of colleges in Chennai were improving themselves.

He further said that colleges in Chennai were not competitive, and recorded admissions because they were in the State’s capital. “It is an indication that there is no awareness of ranking among many students…,” he added.The analysis, conducted by independent analyst Jayaprakash Gandhi, further pointed out that the southern region comprising Dindigul, Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari, Virudhunagar, Sivaganga, Theni and Thoothukudi, registered the lowest admissions at 58.24%. “Colleges in the western districts, and Chennai offer transport facilities to students. The placement record of the colleges in the western districts has also been good,” he said.

E. Balagurusamy, former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University, attributed the western region’s performance to “having quality teachers and fair administrative principles”. “Most of the engineering colleges in Coimbatore have excellent infrastructure. Besides having a good placement record, Coimbatore is known as the knowledge city and is culturally better than Chennai,” he pointed out.

K. Shanmugasundaram, Director for Centre for University Industry Collaboration at Anna University, said while Chennai had the advantage of being an Information Technology (IT) hub, the western districts continued to attract students from core engineering branches.

Students in the western districts benefit as core engineering sectors have good job prospects and offer opportunities to settle closer to their home, he said, adding: “The pay package for computer, and related jobs, are relatively the same. Now, Coimbatore is to Chennai what Mysuru is to Bengaluru in respect of IT jobs. Chennai has a fewer intake in core engineering disciplines even as the industry connect is high,” he added.

Besides, he said, deemed universities cut into the admissions of engineering colleges affiliated to the Anna University. Chennai has three deemed universities, each admitting at least 20,000 students annually, eating into the admission of students in lower-rung colleges [affiliated to the varsity]. Hence, these colleges do not improve their infrastructure. As a result, their placements register a dip. Whereas in the western region, colleges meet the industry requirement and perform better.

Human Resources (HR) personnel from Information Technology and Information Technology-enabled Services (IT and ITeS) companies are not flocking to recruit students from smaller towns due to poor transport connectivity, he said, adding: “HR personnel from IT industry look for good accommodation and train or air connectivity. The comfort level and the ease of completing the recruitment process in a day or two, attract them to Chennai and Coimbatore…”