Icet2008;1500 vacant seats in MCA, Due to lack of students

But no change in management quota donations MCA colleges in the state are heading for a crisis with more than 1,500 seats lying vacant in the convenor quota after the first phase of Icet counselling. This is in addition to thousands of seats lying vacant in minority colleges which conduct separate counselling. In previous years, MCA seats were usually filled up and it was MBA seats that remained vacant. This time, 500 MBA seats are remaining vacant. Academic experts said this spelt trouble for MCA colleges in rural areas which are on the verge of closure because of the non-availability of candidates. They predicted that the situation will only become worse in for the MCA colleges in the next three to four years. The rise in number of engineering colleges in the state will make the things more difficult for MCA colleges . Most of the students with MPC background were opting for engineering courses and do not care to pursue MCA. Another reason for the non-availability of candidates is the condition that maths should be a compulsory subject during intermediate or graduation-level to pursue the course. Students with MPC background in Intermediate are opting for engineering courses at graduation level. Candidates who qualified in Icet2008 examination were opting for MBA instead of MCA. This is because MBA course lasts only for two years, while MCA is for three years. MBA students are recruited by all the companies, MCA students only in software firms. Most of the SC/ST students who qualified in Icet have also opted for MBA courses over MCA.