Private college managements which attract a number of intermediate students in the state seem baffled by the drop. "In some branches in Hyderabad, the fall in MPC students is at least 5% when compared to last year. This is definitely beginning of a new trend. And, medical education is being favoured by more number of students than earlier," said principal of a private college in Narayanguda. "This trend can be considered as a starting point of a focus shift from engineering to other professional education," he said.