The state’s recent decision to provide free education to girls from the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in professional courses has led to a significant increase in the number of seats in engineering, pharmacy, and agriculture. Education experts are concerned about this sudden surge and the potential proliferation of educational institutions.
This year, the state has added approximately 15,000 seats in engineering, 3,000 in pharmacy, and around 500 in agriculture. Notably, for the first time, the government has permitted colleges to increase seats even during the admission process. Previously, the deadline for seat increases was in March, and educationists suggest that this anomaly is due to the election year.
The approved seats for engineering have pushed the intake capacity across the state from 140,000 last year to 155,000. In agriculture, two new agricultural colleges have been approved, and one existing college has been expanded, adding 180 new seats to the agricultural degree programs. Currently, the state has 20 government, two aided, and 88 unaided colleges offering agricultural degrees, with a total admission capacity of 11,818. Last year, 9,660 seats were filled, leaving 2,158 seats vacant.
Sources from the higher and technical education department revealed that after Minister Chandrakant Patil’s announcement of free education for girls on February 1, there was a surge in applications for new colleges and new divisions. “We applied for two divisions for engineering and got approval,” said the principal of a Mumbai college. “It has helped us enroll more students. We plan to focus on encouraging more girls to take advantage of this opportunity.”
The state government has sanctioned free higher education for female students from families with an annual income below ₹8 lakh. Currently, female students admitted under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and EWS categories receive a 50% fee waiver.
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