Bhubaneswar: More students in Odisha have been opting for technical and professional courses this year. This has come as a surprise because in the past few years, seats for these courses lay vacant as the number of takers remained quite low.
However, over 64,000 students have applied for admission in courses like MBA, MCA and pharmacy through the Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE) this year. Last year, it was only 48,000.
“There has been an encouraging rise in the number of applications,” OJEE chairman SK Chand was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
Educationists reasoned that the sudden surge was due to confusion and doubt among parents and students over the safety of going outside of the state for further studies.
“The number of applications for admission within the state has increased due to the pandemic situation,” said Prof Pritish Acharya of the Regional Institute of Education.
“Clearly, the students are keeping their options open. Many who would otherwise go to Delhi, Mumbai, or abroad are exploring colleges within the state,” he added.
This year, around 18 new colleges will also be offering MBA courses, thereby increasing the seats offered by around 1,500 from 6,000 last year.
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