More than 2.6 lakh vacancies in various degree programs in Telangana-Telangana Today

Only 42.91% of the 4,57,704 places in different grades occupied during the 2024-25 academic year

Hyderabad: The conventional grade seems to be losing its luster. This academic year, after multiple rounds of admission processes, a staggering 2,61,262 seats have no candidates!

Various rounds of web counseling through Degree Online Services Telangana (DOST) 2024 have been conducted for 4,57,704 available seats in various programs including BA, BBA, BBM, BCA and BCom offered by 1,055 degree colleges. Ironically, only 1,96,442 seats were occupied, an occupancy rate of 42.91 percent. In fact, degree admissions were down by 8,232 compared to last year.

According to statistics available with the Telangana Council of Higher Education, most of these vacancies, i.e. 2,12,405, were in private degree colleges, highlighting a major crisis in this sector. Of the 3,44,793 seats in 816 private universities, only 38.39 percent have been filled.

Residential colleges of various welfare societies, which tend to be in good demand, also fared no better than private colleges. Only 36.87% of the 23,574 places in 79 residential universities were filled. The 160 university and government colleges recorded 61.96% admissions out of the 89,337 seats.

Officials attribute the alarming vacancy rate to the excess of places available for undergraduate studies. This year, while 3,90,827 students have cleared the intermediate public examinations, including the supplementary tests, there are 4,57,704 undergraduate seats, indicating a significant mismatch between demand and supply.

In addition, not all students who pass the average grade opt for graduate studies. The first preference of students has generally been for undergraduate engineering, MBBS or BPharmacy programmes. As a result, undergraduate universities are left with a large number of unfilled places, also threatening their financial stability and academic quality.

More women are accepting admissions

More women than men enroll in undergraduate education in the State. Statistics show that 1,05,329 women got admissions against the male enrollment of 91,113 this academic year 2024-25.

BCom remains the top pick for students with 77,469 enrolments, followed by BSc Life Science and Physical Science, which recorded 36,733 and 32,181 admissions respectively, while the BA stream recorded 28,362 enrolments.