BHUBANESWAR: Even as the state government has struggled to fill up the seats at the undergraduate (UG) level over the last few years, it has moved to add over 10,000 more across major streams in universities and colleges this year.
The Higher Education department (DHE) stated that the decision was taken after a review of admission data from previous academic sessions revealed that demand for admission in certain UG subjects was significantly higher than the sanctioned intake capacity in many higher educational institutions.
The department has approved rationalisation and increase of 10,372 UG seats statewide. The department, in a letter to the regional directors of education (RDEs) in Bhubaneswar, Balasore, Berhampur, Jeypore and Sambalpur, as well as PG Council chairpersons and college principals has stated that 1,216 more seats have been added to state public universities, while 4,684 seats have been increased in government colleges. Another 3,416 seats have also been added to aided-488 category colleges and 1,056 seats in aided-662 category colleges.
Meanwhile, the state has been witnessing large-scale vacancies in the undergraduate seats owing to poor enrolment across multiple subjects in arts, science and commerce. While around 88,000 seats fell vacant at UG level in 2024-25, another 80,000 seats found no takers in 2025-26. As enrolment process for the first phase admission to degree courses is underway in 1,053 degree colleges, only about 2.37 lakh students have applied against the total strength of 2.87 lakh.
The DHE stated that the revised seat strength has already been incorporated into the Student Academic Management System (SAMS) portal for the current admission season, and directed the RDEs and heads of institutions to implement the revised seat matrix with immediate effect for admissions in the 2026-27 academic session.
The department stated that the rationalisation exercise is aimed at ensuring equitable access to higher education, accommodating more students in high-demand courses and reducing admission pressure during the admission process. It, however, did not specify the subjects for which the demand has surged and to what extent their seat strength has been increased. DHE joint secretary Mousumi Nayak said seats in high demand subjects like botany, zoology and mathematics in science, english, Odia, political science, anthropology in arts and BCom seats in general have been increased.
