LBS colleges to end IT course

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The LBS Centre for Science and Technology, a Government of Kerala Undertaking, has decided to wind up from this year the course in Information Technology (IT) at both the engineering colleges under it.

The decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the executive committee of the centre. As per this decision, the LBS College of Engineering, Kasaragod, and the LBS Institute of Technology for Women, Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram, will not be admitting students to the B.Tech course in IT from this year. However, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is to be approached for sanction to start an additional batch for Computer Science at both the colleges.

In each batch 60 students can be admitted. Since it is only in August or September that the AICTE invites proposals for starting fresh courses in engineering, the additional batch for Computer Science is likely to start only next year. With the existing facilities and the available staff, it will be possible to run an additional batch in Computer Science at both the colleges, it has been pointed out.

Both the engineering colleges under the LBS Centre being of the self-financing kind, it will not be viable to conduct a course without adequate number of students.

Fee concession


Further, as per the existing rules, fee concession should be provided to students whose annual family income is below Rs. 1 lakh, which puts an additional burden on the managements of institutions. It is the gradual decline in demand for the IT course in these colleges that has led to such a decision, according to highly placed sources at the LBS Centre. Last year, 14 seats were vacant at the Kasaragod college and 11 at the institute in Poojappura for the IT course.

In the previous year too, there were vacant seats at these colleges for this branch.

The trend has been that even students initially seeking admission to the IT course move over to other courses after the Centralised Allotment Process.

With no colleges in the State offering post-graduate courses in IT, the demand for the course has been on the decline.

It may be recalled that the Engineering College in Munnar, under the Centre for Continuing Education, another autonomous institution under the Government of Kerala, had done away with the IT branch two years ago, after opting for an additional batch in Electrical and Electronics Engineering.