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Chennai, August 11, 2025 – Despite a record-breaking enrollment of over 3.02 lakh students for the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA-2025), more than 45,000 engineering seats under the state’s single-window admission system are expected to remain vacant this academic year, according to the Directorate of Technical Education (DoTE). The tentative allotment list for the third and final round of counseling, released on Sunday, revealed the scale of vacancies across colleges in the state.
The TNEA-2025 process saw 28,896 students from the general category receive provisional allotments in the first round, followed by 62,289 in the second round, which included government school students availing the 7.5% horizontal reservation. In the third round, 64,629 students received tentative allocations after supplementary counseling, bringing the total number of seat allotments to approximately 1.55 lakh. However, with the Higher Education Department sanctioning over 2.02 lakh seats this year—up from 1.80 lakh last year—the final figures indicate a significant demand-supply mismatch.
A senior DoTE official noted, “The increase in sanctioned seats for Anna University and its affiliated colleges was meant to accommodate growing aspirations, but the demand has not kept pace with capacity, particularly in rural and lesser-known institutions.” The final admission numbers will be confirmed after supplementary counseling for students who passed Class 12 supplementary exams between June and August 26.
Educationists have raised concerns about the persistent vacancies, calling for a review of seat approvals to better align with student demand. Career consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi highlighted that while enrollment percentages have improved slightly from 65.08% last year to 66.39% this year, the preference for urban colleges and courses like computer science and IT—accounting for nearly 45% of filled seats—has left core branches like mechanical and civil engineering less popular. “The craze for engineering remains, but students are prioritizing top-tier institutions and emerging fields with better job prospects,” Gandhi said.
The TNEA, conducted annually by DoTE, is the primary route for engineering aspirants to secure seats in government, government-aided, and self-financing colleges affiliated with Anna University. Despite the transparency of the single-window system, filling the growing number of sanctioned seats remains a challenge. Experts urge reforms to enhance the appeal of engineering courses, particularly in rural colleges, and to align curricula with industry needs to attract more students.
