Admissions to junior colleges for students under the allowed to keep terms (ATKT) scheme finally took off on Thursday amidst much confusion. The education department had to extend the time for admissions by a week as many colleges were unable to complete the processes as directed by it in a circular sent on Wednesday.
The circular from the office of the deputy director of education, Mumbai, had asked colleges to finish preliminary procedures for ATKT admissions by October 1, which sent them into a scramble as it left them just one day for all associated tasks. On Thursday, school education director Bhalchandra Desale decided to extend the date by a week, after a meeting late in the evening.
While several students went college hopping, unsure which institutions had vacant seats, some colleges turned down their requests as they did not have enough seats while others with vacant seats had time only to distribute forms. This, despite the education department setting up 20 zonal centres to distribute lists of colleges with vacant seats. Many remained unaware of the zonal centres.
“We have 120 vacant seats in the arts stream and some 70 forms were distributed today to students,” said Lalchand Tiwari, principal of MD College at Parel. “But none of them had valid documents. They just came to collect the forms. Not many students know about the government circular, and it is practically impossible to finish the process in a day.”
Actually, many colleges, too, had not received the education department’s circular on Thursday while others received it very late on Wednesday. “We just got the circular today,” said Vinayak Paralikar, principal, Cosmopolitan Valia CL College of Commerce, Andheri. “Students came to inquire about the admission process. Students who had failed in three subjects also wanted to know if they were eligible.”
On the other hand, VK Jhalani, principal of the Siddharth College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Fort, said, “We have more than 350 vacant seats across streams, but no one approached us today seeking admission.”
Abdul Sheikh, a student of CBM High School in Sion, was unsure which college he could approach for admission. “I approached one college and the authorities said they had not received any circular yet,” he said. “I will try again on Saturday.”
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