Admission to commerce stream in their own colleges is a struggle for HSC students, but the scenario is the exact opposite when it comes to science stream. BSc has very few takers. The reason: many students go for engineering or medical and the remaining opt for professional courses, say experts.
There are 145 degree colleges in the city offering arts, science as well as commerce, while there are 19 colleges in Mumbai-Thane and Raigad district, affiliated to Mumbai university, offering only science.
According to university records, 30,848 students enrolled in FYBSc have taken up BSc in colleges affiliated to the university.
Secretary of Maharashtra Junior College Teachers Union Anil Deshmukh said, "This year in TYBSc there are only about 600 students who have taken physics from the university. It's too small a number. Nowadays, many professional courses have come up for students, which are job-oriented. Hence, a number of students opt for these. Most of them go for engineering and medical courses. As a result, there are very few takers for BSc. Not to mention, there are hardly any job opportunities in BSc."
"The central government two years back had started scholarship schemes, in which students were given Rs80,000 a year, to attract them to BSc but that failed too," he added.
Professor from a college in the western suburbs Rajendra Shinde said, "Commerce is more in demand than science. The scene for BSc is so bad right now that students scoring as low as 45% in HSC exams too can get admission as a large number of seats are vacant."
Dr Tushar Desai, principal of Ruparel College, Matunga Road, said, "There are many options open for students after HSC and that's why not many go for BSc. Professional courses are the most attractive for them. BSc IT is one such unaided course, which is students' preferred choice."
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