Online counselling a boon for A.P. students

By R.J. Rajendra Prasad

HYDERABAD, AUG. 10. About 1,000 students are being given seats in the 167 engineering colleges every day through online counselling at Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Tirupati and Warangal.

There are 43,288 seats in 153 private engineering colleges and 11 Government colleges in Andhra Pradesh apart from the State's quota in the Regional Engineering Colleges. Previously, counselling was done at Hyderabad, and 500 students were given seats daily in a manual system of allotment, in which the convener would issue an allotment order on the basis of the student's rank in the Engineering, Agriculture, Medicine Common Entrance Test (EAMCET).

This year, the counselling was done at different locations helping students avoid travelling to Hyderabad. The hardware was supplied by the Computer Maintenance Corporation, and the software was developed by a team headed by Prof. P. Subba Reddy, director, Osmania University Computer Centre and Dean, Faculty of Informatics.

``It took us two months to plan the software. Students have to be put into 14 categories, such as whether the student belongs to SC, ST or BC, whether he is a local and non-local under the Presidential Order and whether the candidate is a boy or girl. Then the students have to present themselves at any of the five centres with their original certificates which have to be verified. When the student presents his rank certificate, the official recalls on the computer the candidate's hall ticket in which the photograph of the candidate appears. All these steps are taken to ensure transparency and prevent malpractice,'' Prof. Reddy said.

The department took one dedicated line from the Department of Telecommunications, and used the AP State Wide Area Network (APSWAN) and one ISBN line. There is a backup system to be used if the main system fails.

The cost of the hardware installed is about Rs 2.5 crores, according to Prof. C. Subba Rao, chairman, A.P. State Council of Higher Education. The computer allots the seat on the basis of options given by the student, keeping in view the choice of student appearing for counselling simultaneously in the other four centres, and gives out an allotment order to the student.

The counselling began on August 5, when the first 500 rank- holders were called. There was a problem at the Tirupati centre, where the counselling could not start till 3 p.m.

The choice of the best rank-holders is the State's quota in the RECs, and in the past two years, the first rank- holders have opted for the REC, Tiruchi, while the REC at Suratkal, Karnataka is the second preference. Then come the 11 Government Colleges followed by the older, established private colleges in or around Hyderabad. A student can take a free seat, involving a payment of Rs. 5,000 tuition fee per year and Rs. 3,000 as development charges. In a payment seat, the student should pay Rs. 35,000 towards tuition fee and Rs. 8,000 as development charges.

The prospects for the future look bright, with online counselling extended to every district headquarters town.

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