Hyderabad, Nov 5th: The state government has lined up major reforms in admission to polytechnic courses from the next academic year. The reforms have been initiated as per the recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) led by the technocrat, Mr. Sam Pitroda. The NKC suggested the states should ensure an ideal ration of 4:1 between polytechnic and engineering seats. However, in Andhra Pradesh there are only 60,000 polytechnic seats as against 2.40 lakh engineering seats. The government has now planned to give direct admission to intermediate students with an MPC background into polytechnic courses.

The students will be allowed to directly join the second year of the three-year polytechnic course through lateral entry mode after intermediate. Currently the students need to appear for the Common Entrance Exam for Polytechnics (CEEP) after SSC to secure admissions in polytechnics. The demand for polytechnics courses in the state has been witnessing a steady increase for the past five years. This year the number of applicants went up to 1.90 lakh. The sluggish job market for engineering graduates due to the economic slowdown has also prompted students to opt for polytechnic.