A problem of plenty is staring at the college education system in Telangana. In an alarming trend, over 60 degree colleges in the state have recorded zero admissions. This is after three rounds of the Degree Online Services Telangana (DOST) 2025 web-based counselling that concluded with colleges confirmation option on July 5.
A quick look at the DOST 2025 admissions statistics, shared by the Telangana Council of Higher Education (TGCHE) reveals that 64 degree colleges, including one government, failed to attract even a single student for the academic year 2025-26. These colleges, most of which are located in the rural areas, have a total of 20,260 seats.
At 22, the highest number of colleges with zero admissions is under Kakatiya University, followed by Mahatma Gandhi University with 14 colleges. Osmania University, one of the oldest universities in the country, has 13 colleges with zero admissions, as do five colleges under Palamuru University. Similarly, one government and one private college under Satavahana University did not get any admissions.
Overall, after three rounds of web-based counselling, only 1,43,037 out of 4,36,927 seats have been filled, leaving 2,93,890 seats vacant in 957 degree colleges that include government-run, university, and private colleges.
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As for university-wise admissions, the historic Osmania University colleges secured only 34 per cent admissions out of 1,95,397 seats. Similarly, Kakatiya University colleges saw only 31 percent admissions out of a total intake of 1,07,080.
Interestingly, this time, the National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management, which entered the DOST admission process for admitting students into its various programmes, has secured only seven admissions out of 120 seats.
Meanwhile, the TGCHE and Commissionerate of Collegiate Education have announced the DOST intra-college phase admission. Students desiring to change their programme within the same college can participate in the web options, which will be available on July 9 and 10. Seats will be allotted on July 11. Candidates who have confirmed their seats allotted in the first, second, and third phases of web counselling are eligible for intra-phase counselling.
Even the private engineering colleges in the state are facing a similar problem. About 6,000 management quota seats in private engineering colleges remained vacant for the 2024-25 academic year. This reflects a decline in demand for engineering courses, especially in rural areas.
Telangana has 175 engineering colleges with a total intake of 1.08 lakh seats, including 36,000 under the management quota. While 30,000 of these seats have been filled, the remaining 6,000 remain unoccupied.
Adding to the crisis, 10 private engineering colleges failed to secure any admissions under the management quota. These colleges, which depend on B-category (management quota) admissions for revenue, are facing severe financial difficulties.
They also recorded only 10-15 admissions under the convener quota, making it difficult to continue operations. Officials said that students from these colleges would be shifted to nearby institutions upon request.
The education department officials said that traditional core engineering branches have seen a decline in the demand while computer science and allied courses remain popular among students.
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