Archive · 31 Jul 2026
2.5 Lakh Degree Seats Unfilled After DOST 2026 Counselling
In Hyderabad, a big college exam called DOST 2026 let students pick where to study.
But after four rounds, more than 2.5 lakh spots in 783 colleges were still empty.
Only about 1.15 lakh students chose a seat.
The problem is that many students who finish high school want to study engineering or medicine instead of regular college courses.
The council is thinking about letting students from other states fill the empty seats, and may even close courses that keep getting few students.
3,73,149 degree seats were available in 783 colleges, but only 1,15,433 were taken.
Nearly 1.91 lakh seats in private unaided colleges remain vacant.
Autonomous government colleges filled 26,432 of 45,120 seats, leaving 18,688 empty.
Mismatch between 4,23,129 intermediate graduates and 4,37,809 available seats is a key reason for vacancies.
The council plans spot admissions for out-of-state students and may discontinue low‑enrolment courses.
- Who
- Students, Telangana Council of Higher Education, Prof. V. Balakista Reddy
- What
- More than 2.5 lakh degree seats remain unfilled after four rounds of DOST 2026 counselling
- When
- As of Thursday, 2026
- Where
- Hyderabad, Telangana, India
- Why
- Mismatch between seat availability and students clearing intermediate, and declining interest in conventional undergraduate programmes
- Total seats up for allocation
- 3,73,149
- Seats confirmed by students
- 1,15,433
- Vacant seats overall
- 2,57,716
- Private unaided college seats
- 2,49,500
- Vacant private seats
- 1,91,480
- Autonomous government college seats
- 45,120
- Vacant autonomous seats
- 18,688