Admission process derailed

NEW DELHI: The process of admitting OBC students in institutions of higher education has been halted by the interim stay.

Admissions for general category students will, however, continue and be completed on time. The stay will also have no effect on the government’s plans for expansion of higher education infrastructure. Besides, the government will go ahead with collecting the additional 1 per cent education cess imposed to meet the expansion cost.

“The admission process for OBC students will be affected by the stay order,” Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh said. He indicated that the quotas may get delayed by another year and may not be implemented in academic year 2007-08 in the present situation.

With hardly any time left now for the new academic session, the educational institutions affected by the order have stalled all quota-related admissions. The HRD ministry has told elite central educational institutions like the IITs and IIMs to wait for the final verdict of the Supreme Court before deciding their future course of action.