The government’s move will see an increase in seats, thereby paving way for thousands of students, mostly from backward communities, to continue studies in government colleges without coughing up high fees in private institutions. There are about 200 government and aided arts and science colleges in the state. 

A senior official in the Higher Education Department told DTNext that arts and science colleges had an important role to play in the higher education sector as a large number of students pursued science and humanities as courses of their choice. 

Over the past few years, the department had opened 29 new government colleges in various parts of the state, he said.  

“Despite this, the admissions to various courses has been increasing by more than 10 per cent year-on-year,” he said. In 2017-18, a total of 1.67 lakh students were admitted to arts and science colleges across the state, he added. 

Government colleges admitted 68,235 and government-aided colleges, 99,234 students last year. The number of applications increased by about 20 percent. 

The number of students’ admissions was expected to cross about 2 lakh, he added. In this context, the department requested the government to increase the admission quota this academic year, the official said. 

The government also planned to improve basic amenities at colleges. Additional furniture and equipment would be provided to ensure better learning ambiance, he added.