Bangalore: The Government is in discussion with the managements of private engineering colleges for the allotment of 7,000 additional seats through the CET ranking in private colleges apart from those which have already been filled-up in the Government pool of seats in the private colleges for the current academic year.

Aravind Limbavali, Minister for Higher Education, told presspersons here on Monday that the representatives of the COMED-K (a consortium of private medical and engineering colleges) had approached the Government and sought its intervention in filling up the 7,000 vacant seats in private engineering colleges for the current academic year.

The engineering college managements had been categorically told that the Government would step in only if the fee structure is the same as that prescribed for the Government quota of seats in private colleges.

Under the Government quota, the students have to pay Rs. 25,000 a year and this is further subsidised for students from the lower economic sections.

According to the agreement between the Government and the private engineering colleges, the Government’s share of seats in the private colleges was 45 seats for every 100 available, while in the previous year it was 50:50. Now, with the likely surrender of seats the Government may enjoy a near equal share with private managements.

Should the Government take charge of the 7,000 seats being made over to it by private colleges, then these seats would be filled up by students who would clear the qualifying examination (pre-university or equivalent) in the supplementary examinations.

Incidentally, most of these students have cleared the CET and have also been given a ranking.