Hyderabad: Students want EWS quota for engineering, pharma, MBA too

HYDERABAD: Reservations for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in the state have been limited to medical and dental colleges through Government Order (GO) No. 47. Now the students from streams such as engineering, pharmacy and management studies are also demanding the EWS quota.

“Though the demand for engineering courses has reduced, the demand for the top colleges has never ceased. There are several EWS category students who would like to grab a seat in these institutes. The 10 per cent EWS quota, if implemented for other streams, would benefit several students,” said Mr Sharan Raichur, president of the Telangana Engineering Students Joint Action Committee.

In medical and dental colleges, though, the 10 per cent increase in seats to accommodate the EWS quota has been limited to government colleges, private colleges are yet to increase the number of seats. “It might get implemented from the next academic year,” said Dr Mahesh from the Health Care Doctors Reforms.

Hundreds of students have benefited from the EWS in medical and dental colleges.

One of them, Kalva Abhiram, who got admission through EWS in Gandhi Medical College, said, “I applied for Gandhi Medical College in the third round of counselling, which was when the EWS category seats were released. Twenty-five seats were allotted to EWS out of the 250 seats in the college. The fee is nominal.” All seats under the EWS quota have been taken, he said.

An amount of Rs 4,315.15 crore has been sanctioned by the Centre for the creation of an additional 2,14,766 seats throughout the country in 158 central educational institutions to create infrastructure for the EWS category students. “If the EWS quota is extended to private engineering colleges, another 2,000 to 3,000 economically weaker students can pursue engineering courses in top colleges like CBIT, Vasavi and Vardhaman.  The state government should issue a GO for the upcoming academic year so that all institutions can make provisions additional infrastructure for classrooms, hostels for the additional intake,” said a senior professor from an engineering college, on condition of anonymity.