We have been discussing about the reasons for the declining standards in engineering education in self financing colleges in the past two weeks. While we are discussing the issues, there is a fresh issue that has erupted with regard to admission to the self financing colleges. The association of self financing colleges have decided to admit students for the forthcoming academic year on their own without joining the Single Window system run by Anna University. One can see a clear link between the increasing hold of the Anna University over the self financing colleges -as now there is a single syllabus, single examination and centralized evaluation for the whole of Tamilnadu conducted by Anna university- and the eagerness of the self financing managements to get out of the University clutches on one count or the other. One of the ways that the self financing institutions have found is to conduct their own entrance examinations to select candidates. Contrast this with the decision of self financing colleges in Karnataka who have decided to entrust admissions for the seats in their colleges through Common Entrance Test (CET) conducted by the Technical University in that State.

All these years only a University or a Deemed University would conduct their own entrance examinations to admit students to professional courses. Now, all of a sudden these private managements want to withdraw from a well established Single Window system of Anna University and conduct their own entrance examinations. The first casualty is the convenience to the candidates. Until now, if a student wants an admission in any of the colleges within Tamilnadu, he or she had to apply to DOTE entrance examination [that covers Anna University, Government aided engineering colleges (DOTE 1), Private engineering colleges (DOTE 2)], Annamalai university, and CECRI Karaikudi. Now, since many of these DOTE 2 colleges would be conducting their own entrance examinations, a candidate has to sit for umpteen number of entrance examinations and also has to separately apply for many different colleges. Apart from this, non-uniformity of the standards in the entrance tests would favour mediocrity at the entry stage itself.

Tamilnadu Chief Minister Ms. Jayalalithaa has announced that the State has formulated a policy for admissions in engineering colleges which would be unveiled shortly. The aspiring candidates and educationists hope that better sense prevails on the TN government and a rigorous policy is put in place well in time to protect the interests of meritorious candidates without yielding to the private managements. Already Anna University has announced the dates for this year's entrance examination and without any further delay the State has to announce its stand and its policy on this matter.

It is very important that all engineering colleges in the country be brought within the purview of and affiliated to a National Technical University under the control of AICTE. There should not be any influence of State governments or any other University/Body over these engineering colleges. A common entrance test all over the country is preferred and there must be uniform guidelines to select candidates for engineering and medical colleges. The syllabus, examination and evaluation scheme should be uniform all over the country. This way, the semester timing, duration, and completion of course would be harmonized all over the country. An alternate option is that all engineering colleges in a State be brought under the control of a Technology University as it happened in Karnataka and all these technical universities should be guided by the national body AICTE for student admission, syllabus, examination procedures, recruitment of faculty, and promotions. The need for such Technology Universities and the need for AICTE to be an umbrella institution for all such Technology Universities would become obvious if one probes into the quality variation in engineering education across the country.