KOCHI: Tribal students in the state aspiring to pursue higher education are struggling to get admissions in various institutions, especially autonomous colleges, allegedly due to lack of transparency in the special allotment process.
Students allege that details like unfilled vacancies of SC/ST students are not published on websites of many institutions, and SC/ST seats are being filled by conducting spot allotment simply by issuing short notice of one day in local pages of print media. Adishakthi Summer School, a tribal welfare organization, has written to the governor and education minister seeking action.
“Though a mandatory reservation is ensured in the prospectus, the procedure for filling vacancies relating SC/ ST is kept vague or not transparent. No autonomous colleges in Ernakulam are following SC/ST special allotment procedure in a transparent way, as followed by the Mahatma Gandhi University (MGU).
Unfilled vacancies of SC/ST are not published on their website, while every other matter relating to college admission is published on their website. As the procedure followed is not transparent, the opportunity for aspiring students, especially scheduled tribe students, are denied the opportunity of availing mandatory reservations,” said Mary Lydia, coordinator of Adishakthi Summer School.
A majority of the tribal students are hailing from faraway places like Wayanad, Attapady, Idukki and other forest areas. By not publishing the number of seats remaining for SC/ST on the website transparently, the constitutional rights of several SC/ST students, especially adivasi students, are being denied by institutions.
The letter to the governor, who is the chancellor of state varsities, and education minister, seeks to issue necessary guidelines to all autonomous colleges to reopen the final phase of spot allotment publishing the data relating to SC/ST on the website if the allotment procedure was concluded without following the rules.
Lydia said that SC/ST special allotment that would ensure statutorily mandated reservation for dalit and adivasi students was carried out properly only in Calicut University and MGU. However, SC/ST students are not granted adequate time to register and complete their applications.
“The time frame often is as little as 36 hours. Such a short window makes it infeasible for students hailing from remote areas and vulnerable backgrounds to participate in. Hence the government should issue a directive to the universities to conduct the registration process for at least 5-7 days,” she said.
Another issue raised by tribal students is the conversion of SC/ST seats to the general category practiced by universities and autonomous colleges. “It is unconstitutional and takes opportunity away from already vulnerable students from pursuing higher education. We request the government to give directives to all universities and autonomous colleges to not convert SC/ST seats to other categories till the last stage of the admission process,” said Lydia.
