PANJIM: From 2024, admissions to Goa’s engineering colleges will be carried out solely in accordance with the merit list drawn by the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main- formerly All India Engineering Entrance Examination in line with admissions to IITs and NITs - as the State government abolished Goa Common Entrance Tests (GCET) from the academic year 2024-2025 onwards.
The Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) has announced to discontinue with GCET, paving the way for a new method of admissions based on marks secured in JEE. The DTE said that the decision will save students from stress and to compete at national level.
The five engineering colleges that will adapt to these changes are Goa College of Engineering Farmagudi; PCC college Verna, Rayeshwar College Shiroda; Don Bosco Engineering College Fatorda and Agnel Institute of Design Assagao, accounting for a total of approximately 1500 seats. In addition admissions to NIT will also be determined according to the same criteria
However, sensing that there will be a cause for worry from Goan students as they will get into the national selection pool of students who can seek admission in the Goa colleges, the Dept of Technical Education is working on criteria to ensure Goan students get preference in State colleges
Since 2005, the GCET has been an essential criterion in the State to determine merit for admissions to engineering degree seats. On average, 2,500 students use to answer this exam, annually.
Speaking to Herald, DTE deputy director Pradip Kusnur said that the government has decided to abolish GCET from the academic year 2024-2025 onwards, and accordingly, 2023 will be the last year, where the admissions to engineering courses will be based on GCET.
He said that Goan students opt for three professional courses post Class XII - medical, engineering, and architecture. For admissions in medicine, National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) is mandatory while for architecture, the National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA), conducted by the Council of Architecture is a must.
“Only for engineering, the State entrance test was mandatory for admissions in Goan colleges,” he said.
Kusnur said that annually, 75 percent of Class XII passed-out students answer some or the other national test like NEET, JEE or NATA. “This is basically because they had choice. Many wanted to go outside Goa for NIT, IITs, AIIMS, etc, so only 25 percent of students use to answer GCET,” he said.
“If we adopt national level exams, Goan students will be more competitive and everyone will be at par in competing against each other,” he added.
Kusnur said that this will also give an opportunity to non-Goan students to seek admission to our engineering colleges.