With Round 3 of Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) counseling coming to an end, the data released by the TNEA showed the number of seats allotted to students this year went up by around 13% compared to last year. Despite this increase, over one-third of the seats were still lying vacant. 

An analyst of franc-wise data indicated that the increase in uptake was driven to a considerable extent by the demand for AI and related courses among students. The AI and Data Science branch ranked fourth, only next to Computer Science and Engineering (CS), Electronics and Communication Engineering (EC) and Information technology (IT), in terms of the number of seats opted by the students.

The branch accounted for 10% of the total seats the students took, a significant increase compared to two years when it accounted for less than half of this year’s uptake. 

According to the TNEA, over 270 colleges offered the AD course this year. In 202, the number of colleges offering this course was only around 70. 

Analyst Jayaprakash Gandhi said the interest in AI and related technologies and the increase in placements for these courses certainly drove up the number of takers for engineering seasts this year. However, he stressed that the students should be skilled to land good jobs once they finish their courses. 

As per the analysis by Mr. Gandhi, 61 of the 442 colleges that participated in the counseling had filled less than 10% of their sanctioned seats. He said this was a real concern as students who opted for these colleges would be affected, The Hindu reported.

According to a senior official, it was unlikely that more seats from these colleges would be taken by students.