Kerala seeks AICTE deadline extension to fill vacant engineering seats
The Kerala Higher Education department has formally requested the Union Ministry of Education to extend the August 14 deadline set by the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for engineering admissions. The move comes amid growing concerns from candidates and parents about seats remaining vacant in government engineering colleges and objections to the ongoing decentralised spot admission process.
Sources in the office of Higher Education Minister Roji M. John confirmed the request on Tuesday. They said an extension would enable additional rounds of allotment, helping ensure that no government engineering college seat goes unfilled. Other states have also asked for an extension, citing issues such as examination irregularities, floods, and reported deficiencies in the Central Board of Secondary Education's evaluation process.
The AICTE deadline is a nationally mandated cut-off for completing engineering admissions. After August 14, institutes are expected to freeze admissions and report vacant seats. The deadline is intended to standardise the admission cycle across states, but state-specific challenges often prompt requests for flexibility.
This year, the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations conducted three rounds of allotment for B.Tech admissions. However, some students said the first two rounds showed negligible changes. The primary reason, they argue, was that the KEAM allotment ran concurrently with national-level admission processes such as the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) and the Central Seat Allocation Board (CSAB). Consequently, many candidates did not see meaningful improvements in their preferred options in the initial rounds. The third round brought some changes, but limited.
A parent from Kozhikode said a fourth round of allotment would have been a logical step. It would have allowed candidates to compete for seats that fell vacant after withdrawals following national-level counselling. That, however, was not done. In the past 10 years, a centralised spot admission process at the Government Engineering College, Thrissur, ensured that almost every seat in government colleges was filled. This year, the process has been decentralised, with individual colleges holding their own sessions.
Spot admissions are now being held at eight government engineering colleges. The first session took place at the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, on August 11. Sessions are scheduled at seven other colleges on August 13 and 14. Parents pointed out that students may only get to know about seat vacancies after attending a session at a particular college. Even if seats remain vacant in other colleges, they may not be able to move. Additionally, students who have already paid higher fees to secure admission in self-financing colleges may not get an opportunity to shift to government colleges, which are generally preferred due to lower fees. The AICTE deadline could further restrict options for those who fail to secure medical admissions, they added.
The Students' Federation of India (SFI) has opposed the decentralised process. Functionaries claim it only benefits self-financing engineering colleges. They said the schedule was announced in a hurry and that students from poor families will be unable to claim vacant seats in government colleges. They also accused self-financing college managements of withholding no-objection certificates to prevent students from participating in the process.
The state government's request to the Centre now awaits a decision. If the deadline is extended, more rounds of allotment could be held, potentially resolving some of the concerns raised by students and parents. Until then, the admission process remains in a state of uncertainty, with many aspiring engineers watching closely.
