In an attempt to increase the engineering seats, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has approved increased intake capacity in existing colleges by 5,354 seats.
As a result, total number of seats for engineering would increase to 70,115. The total increased number includes 1,800 seats in six new colleges approved by the AICTE. Six new colleges will be opened out of which three will be in Ahmedabad while one each will be in Navsari, Vallabh Vidyanagar, and Rajkot.
AICTE has issued letter of intent to the six new colleges and final approval will be sent by the apex body. This year 69,741 candidates cleared the examination from Gujarat board and out of these students only 63,000 would be eligible for admission. Students have applied in popular fields like mechanical, computers, civil and electrical. In 2007-08, students who wanted admissions exceeded the available seats.
At present, all most every student gets admitted to engineering colleges even with 45 percent marks. However, more than 9,000 seats were vacant last year as some of the colleges were located outside the city. It is expected that around 12,000 seats may lie vacant as students may not prefer admission in lower branches.
