Shimla, Feb 1
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Sunday condemned the Himachal Pradesh government\'s decision to conduct a separate entrance test for admission to the private engineering colleges.

Himachal Pradesh Technical University in Hamirpur will hold this entrance test which will be separated from the all-India test conducted under the JEE, it said.

\"It\'s shocking to note that the government has acted under pressure from the private engineering colleges which want an easy access on to the market of students, who do not get through the all-India test,\" CPI-M state secretariat member Tikender Panwar said in a statement.

Himachal Pradesh has over 34 engineering colleges. Of these, 17 are run by private universities.

\"In 2014-15, these universities could enroll only 3,055 candidates against the sanctioned capacity of 6,100 seats,\" the statement said.

The CPI-M also said in case the government was serious about Himachal Pradesh Technical University, it should be converted into a full-fledged university.

\"Currently, the technical university was nothing but a facilitator for engineering courses with small paraphernalia,\" it said.

CPI-M slams Himachal government over entrance test