ahmedabad for aspiring engineers the going is likely to be tough this time though the results of class xii science stream declared on thursday showed a drop in pass percentage the cutoff mark required for admission in colleges will be higher this yearofficials of admission committee of professional courses said the cutoff mark required for admission in engineering courses is likely to increase by 710 marks this despite the fact that many engineering and pharmacy colleges might have empty class rooms because of less number of students aspiring for the course and the 50 per cent eligibility criteria say acpc sources sources in the acpc also said the higher cutoff mark is because the number of students securing over 70 per cent marks this year is more compared to last year there are over 33000 seats in engineering colleges and around 6000 seats in pharmacy colleges across gujaratin the year 2010 the number of a group mathematics physics and chemistry students who scored over 70 per cent marks was 10728 this year the number is 17045 this officials believe will increase the cutoff mark in engineering branches like mechanical computer instrumentation and control and information technology the cutoff mark in these branches will be higher by 510 marks said acpc officials m n patel member secretary of the joint admission committee for professional courses said the cutoff mark in mechanical computers and information technology will be higher by abound five marks but the number of students meeting the 50 per cent eligibility criteria has dropped considerably this time an acpc official said the number of students who cleared the examination this year has dropped by more than 5200 he added that with the 50 per cent marks in theory and practical tests being the minimumeligibility criteria for admission in engineering courses less number of students will qualify this year this could mean that many colleges may not have adequate number of students said acpc officialsn r dave former vice chancellor of the hemchandra acharya north gujarat university said the government has been encouraging setting up of new colleges but the braindrain continues students are still headed for other states to pursue their choice of course