The Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) counselling for the academic year 2024 concluded on Wednesday, with over 1.23 lakh students successfully securing seats in various engineering programs across the state.
The final round of counselling included the completion of formalities for the Schedule Caste Arunthathiyar (SCA) candidates, who were eligible for a 3% internal quota. A senior official from the Directorate of Technical Education (DoTE), who chose to remain anonymous, indicated that the next step involves finalizing the number of students from all quotas who will be joining engineering colleges. This data is expected to be available by Thursday.
The official confirmed that all engineering seats at key institutions, including Anna University, its College of Engineering Guindy (CEG) campus, the Madras Institute of Technology (MIT) campus, and Alagappa College of Technology, were filled. Additionally, engineering seats in over 30 affiliated engineering colleges of Anna University across the state were also fully allocated.
Among the various engineering disciplines, B.Tech and BE courses in Computer Science, Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, and Machine Learning were particularly popular among students. This trend reflects the growing interest and demand for emerging technologies and data-driven fields.
The official noted that this year, students appeared to prioritize colleges based on their performance, as detailed information was made available by the DoTE throughout the counselling process. This emphasis on institutional performance led to a more informed decision-making process among applicants.
Despite the overall high demand for seats in prominent institutions and popular disciplines, some engineering colleges struggled to fill their seats. The official mentioned that several colleges were unable to fill even 10% of their available seats, highlighting a disparity in the