Nagpur: Though bifocal stream may be a popular choice for Std XI admissions in the city, there are still many well known colleges that are struggling to fill up even half of their seats. A show cause notice has been issued to 33 junior colleges in Nagpur by the Directorate of Vocational Training and Education (DVTE) asking why their bifocal seats should not be cancelled considering that less than 50% have been filled in the last three years.
The letter dated March 30 has raised concerns over the falling admission rate in these colleges. Bifocal streams like computer science, fisheries, electronics are hardly finding takers in these colleges which include a couple of well known branded institutes. However, even if the bifocal seats are cancelled it will not have any bearing on the colleges’ general science seats or their recognition status.
Principal of one of these colleges told TOI that the coaching class-college nexus has resulted in admissions going to specific institutes while the rest suffer. “Students take admission only in those colleges that have a financial arrangement with their coaching classes. The entire rot in the system is because of this dirty nexus which exists between the two. If you don’t have a tie-up with the coaching system then it will be a struggle to get admissions,” the principal said on condition of anonymity.
The general science seats for a college are sanctioned by school education department while the bifocal seats’ final approval comes from DTVE. An official from the school education department said the vacant seats were a reflection of the overcapacity that has built-up in the last few years. The official said, “In 2017, we received around 35,000 applications for a little over 50,000 science seats. Imagine 15,000 seats having no takers and hence it is no surprise that seats will remain vacant in Std XI.”