Ahmedabad: For the first time after three rounds of admissions, 3,501 seats in govt and grant-in-aid diploma engineering colleges remained vacant, prompting the state admission committee to announce a fourth round following the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) extension of the admission deadline.While 27,428 seats remain vacant in self-financed colleges after completion of the admission process for students passing Class 10. The fourth round, however, will be restricted to the vacant seats in govt and grant-in-aid colleges.Online registration for the fourth round will be open from Aug 21 to 25. The merit list will be published on Aug 31, after which students will have to submit fresh choices between Sep 1 and 3. Seat allotment will take place on Sep 7, with fee payment scheduled from Sep 7 to 9. Details of seats remaining vacant after the round will be published on Sep 11.The admission process had initially been declared complete, raising concerns that a sizeable number of government seats would remain unfilled. However, AICTE has extended the deadline for completing admissions until Sep 14, enabling the state admission committee to conduct the additional round.Both students who participated in the earlier rounds and fresh applicants can register for the fourth round. Students will have to submit fresh choices, and only the 3,501 vacant govt and grant-in-aid seats can be selected. Choices submitted during previous rounds will not be considered.Students seeking admission to self-financed colleges or Centre of Excellence (COE) institutions will have to approach the respective colleges directly.
