NAGPUR: While registration for the Std XI common admission procedure (CAP) closes late on Sunday night, there are still no takers for almost 60% of junior college seats in Nagpur city. This trend is not new for the city as on an average, 20,000 seats go vacant every year in Std XI.
As of Friday, just over 22,000 students had completed their online registration for Std XI admissions. Though it’s certain that more students will register as the deadline is 11pm on Sunday, still it’s impossible for the entire deficit to be covered in such a short period.
Senior academics say regardless of how high the registrations rise, still almost half of the seats shall remain vacant. Ashok Gavhankar, general secretary of Vidarbha Junior College Teachers’ Association (VJUCTA), said, “I can guarantee you that around 45% of the seats will remain vacant because that has been the norm every year.”
A strong proponent of cancelling the CAP, Gavhankar said that it’s a more time consuming process. “Look at where we are now in the academic calendar. August is almost over and here we are still in the registration process, not even the admission stage. Compared to this, junior colleges just outside city limits have been operating for almost a month with students attending classes regularly,” said Gavhankar.
CAP is applicable only to colleges located within city limits, whereas in rural, admissions are done directly with the student applying at the college. CAP was started with the intent of saving time for students who would run from college to college and apply at multiple places. Gavhankar said, “That’s not applicable now because 20,000 seats go vacant every year, which means every single student is guaranteed admission. Yes, you may not get admission in the college you desire but you won’t be deprived of education in the city. Colleges can start their own online admission process so that students don’t have to visit colleges physically.”
VJUCTA had petitioned the deputy director of education (Nagpur division) office demanding that CAP be cancelled. “There are over 200 colleges in CAP, but students don’t apply everywhere, it’s just between 5-10 colleges that they are interested in and even get admissions. Similarly, students can apply online to these colleges from the comfort of their homes and classes can start early,” said Gavhankar.
NUMBER GAME
Registered: 22,212
Part 1 form filled: 17,922
Part 1 verified: 16,636
Option filled: 11,419
(Till August 20)
