Admissions to IIMs, IITs halted

MUMBAI: The process of admissions to centrally aided educational institutions has been put on hold for the current academic year following the Supreme Court’s stay on the implementation of 27 per cent OBC quota.

A source at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, confirmed on Friday that despite the political standoff on the issue, the Supreme Court’s stay cannot be violated. “We were told on Thursday by the HRD ministry that admissions to all these institutes have been put on hold till further communication,” the source said.

This puts the fate of nearly 30 freshers on hold. Accommodating the first phase of the quota, IIM-A was scheduled to release admission offer letters on April 12 to as many as 280 students, an increase of 30 seats. This has now been put on hold. The group discussions and personal interviews have also been concluded.

Even as the IIMs subtly welcome the development, there lurks the fear that the standoff will derail the admission process as a whole.

“Given the stubbornness of the government, it is difficult to say when the impasse will end, but we are keeping our fingers crossed,” the source said.

“Too much delay can affect the process adversely. Some offer letters might be rejected after they are issued, and need to be reissued… it is a time-consuming process. We never wanted to introduce the quota, it was mandated upon us.”