Chennai, May 11 (IANS): Counselling for Engineering seats in Tamil Nadu will be held after the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET), state Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudi said here on Wednesday.

The NEET for this year is to be held on July 17.

He also said that the government will be conducting online counselling for engineering admissions this year also, adding that the higher education department officials will be holding a meeting regarding the modalities on coming Tuesday.

More felicitation centres would be arranged in schools and that he has had a discussion with school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi regarding the same, he said.

Several students are visiting the private browsing centres for online counselling and to prevent that the government was planning felicitation centres in schools.

The minister also said that the lateral entry of diploma students into engineering programmes has also been given a go-ahead to prevent the lapse of engineering seats in the state.