Admissions for Science Courses: Where do Public, Pvt Univs Stand?

With admissions season underway, thousands of students from the Science stream are bound to be worried about which institute or university to get into.

The fault line between public and private universities or institutes is also likely to weigh in when students are making their choices.

So we got experts from CollegeDekho, an education start-up providing admission solutions to students, to share their insights into the public versus private universities dynamic in the Science stream, with special emphasis on the situation in the private sphere.

"To be honest, private engineering universities are yet to match (public universities). They are almost at par with public universities, but they are yet to match (them). IITs and NITs are most popular among students because they offer good placement opportunities and good quality education. And parents have this idea that if a student gets into a public institution like IIT and NIT, they'll have a bright career. But there's also the other side of the coin. There are a good number of private universities which almost match the standard of public universities... So if you get admission in any of these universities there's a good scope for placement and good quality of education. These universities may or may not match with the standard of IITs and NITs but they do offer quality education and hire experienced and well-qualified professors," says Sakunth Kumar of CollegeDekho, when asked about the public versus private dynamic in the current context.

Among the upcoming private varsities in the Science stream that Kumar lists are the SRM University, KL Deemed University, GITAM University, Amity University, GD Goenka University and Lovely Professional University.

What About Financial Aid?

Getting financial aid while studying in a private varsity is a major concern for students. On this, Kumar points out:

“In terms of private colleges, most of the deemed universities provide financial assistance to students. And when it comes to private colleges specifically, most colleges independently do not offer financial assistance to students. Students can (also) apply for government scholarship schemes. These schemes are specified to SC/ST category, OBCs and economically weaker categories. Students may get some amount as reimbursement or as scholarship. Most private colleges do not offer financial assistance. But private deemed universities offer fee waiver and financial assistance schemes.”

Drawbacks in the Private Sphere

While there may be some upcoming private universities focused on science and engineering, drawbacks in the sphere do exist, primarily in the form of overcrowding of such private colleges.

“There are numerous private engineering colleges in India and almost 50 percent of engineering seats remain vacant in (many of these) these colleges throughout the country. We cannot judge that all the private engineering colleges are perfect. So there are a limited number of institutes.”

Sakunth Kumar, CollegeDekho, to The Quint