JEE Main Score, HPCET and Admission To Engineering colleges Based on 12th Score

Although the government of Himachal Pradesh had decided not to fill the engineering seats merely on the basis of the JEE Main exam and conduct its own state level exam, yet seeing over 5500 seats going vacant during 2022-17 forced it change its stance.  Now, the government decided to allow admissions based on the merit of 10+2.

The HP government had decided to start a Himachal Pradesh Combined Entrance Test (HPCET) to fill up 50% seats in 37 engineering colleges across the state. This added to the misery of the students as they had to take another entrance exam besides JEE Main exam costing them extra expenditure and time.

As the government realised that the seats are going vacant and the students are opting for different streams, it decided to allow the engineering colleges to provide admissions merely based on 10+2 results and fill up the vacant seats. The government made a mockery of JEE Main exam, which is aimed at setting uniform standards for admission to engineering courses in India.

The pressure led to a poor performance of the students and 50% seats went vacant, even in government colleges. These seats were then shifted to the state quota.

In the 17 private universities running across Himachal, only 2515 seats were filled through direct admissions out of the 5630 seats available. About 462 seats were provided to lateral entry students and 31 seats were filled due to migration.

The Dean at the Himachal Pradesh Technical University, N N Sharma explained that students’ drifting from engineering to various other streams is a national phenomenon. Since the job prospects have reduced in the engineering stream, students don't want to pursue engineering courses with a heavy fee structure that not everyone can afford. This is leading to the number of seats remaining vacant in the engineering colleges.

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