Cusat allotment by Aug 14

The Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) on Friday decided to hold the third phase of its counseling for the remaining BTech courses on August 12, 13 and 14, allowing students to get on the spot admission and secure their future. This wise step has effectively nullified the damage done to Cusat’s BTech admission process by a clause in the agreement between the private self-financing engineering college managements and the Kerala Government.

According to the agreement, candidates who secure admission to private self-financing colleges under KEAM-2009 will have to stay with the colleges after August 14 or forfeit the entire fees for four years to get transfer certificate (TC) so as to join any other college.

Mathrubhumi Education had reported on Thursday that those who hadn’t figured in the second allotment list of Cusat but have got allotment in the private self-financing colleges would be a much harried lot, if Cusat delayed its third allotment beyond August 14. With so many seats falling vacant, accelerating the process would be the only solution for Cusat to redeem the situation for itself and for the students, it was reported in these columns. With Friday’s decision, Cusat has been able to control the damage.

The press release issued by Cusat on Friday asked students who figure in the waiting list to present themselves at the varsity’s Kunjali Marakkar School of Engineering on the Thrikkakara campus at 9.30 am as per the schedule below.

Those students who figure in the waiting list and whose general rank is within 4000 should come for admission on August 12 and students from 4001 to 6000 should come on August 13. Candidates from ETB, Muslim, OBH, OBX category in the rank from 6000 to 8000 and the LCC category students up to the 10000 rank should present themselves on August 14. All the other students who figure in the waiting list including SC and ST students should come for admission on August 14. For details log on to www.cusat.ac.in or phone 0484-2862289,2862290 and 2862258.

Strangely, even after the second allotment, 50 per cent of Cusat’s BTech seats remained vacant. With the same students appearing for Cusat and KEAM entrances and then getting allotment in both, observers in the field said that these students opted for the courses under KEAM, deserting Cusat. That was why so many Cusat seats had fallen vacant, they said.

Experts say that Cusat itself has landed it in this piquant situation by conducting its CAT and BTech admission process at the time of KEAM. In the preceding years it used to conduct the CAT well before KEAM and concluded the entire process even before the KEAM process was started. It can get out of this mess either by sticking to this pattern or wait for KEAM process to get over and then start its admission process in the coming years, one expert had said.