Over 51% of Telangana Degree Seats Remain Vacant After DOST Special Phase

HYDERABAD — More than half of the undergraduate degree seats in Telangana under the Degree Online Services, Telangana (DOST) admission system have remained vacant this year, even after the conclusion of multiple rounds of counselling.

The results of the latest DOST special drive phase, announced on August 14, allotted seats to 14,975 students. With this, the total number of degree admissions across the state reached 1,84,375 against an overall availability of 3,73,149 seats. This leaves 1,88,774 seats unfilled, amounting to nearly 51% of the total intake.

Officials have attributed the large number of vacancies primarily to degree colleges holding on to surplus and defunct seats instead of surrendering them back to their affiliated universities.

According to an official from the Telangana Council of Higher Education (TGCHE), much of the vacancy issue stems from colleges retaining additional intake capacity that was sanctioned over past years, even in academic streams where student demand has dropped significantly.

Colleges have maintained these additional intake numbers for several years without surrendering excess seats to the universities, the TGCHE official stated.

Furthermore, some institutions continue to retain academic courses that have recorded zero admissions for multiple consecutive years rather than formally applying to shut them down. The official noted that the administrative fees required to officially close or reopen an academic course serve as one of the primary reasons colleges opt to keep non-viable seats listed in the admission system.

Changing student academic preferences across the state have also compounded the ongoing vacancy problem, officials added.