The death of its undergraduate student Abhimanyu has not shaken the popularity of Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, among aspirants.
The latest admission data for postgraduate programmes offered by the only autonomous college in the government sector showed that around 5,900 candidates had applied online for 288 seats available for MA, M.Sc, and M.Com courses.
Ninety-five per cent of postgraduate seats got filled at the allotment held on July 9, a week after the brutal killing of the 20-year-old student. The cut-off percentage for the most-sought-after courses ranged from a whopping 94 to 98. The Hindu had reported on June 27 that similar rush was witnessed for admission to undergraduate courses offered by the college.
Principal K.N. Krishna Kumar said that 1,300 students had reported for admission to the total 288 seats for various postgraduate programmes. As many as 650 applicants had turned up for admission to the 10 seats for M.Sc Chemistry, he added.
College governing council member Sunish K.S, the in-charge of admissions and a faculty member of Zoology department, pointed out that the cut-off mark in the State merit category for M.Sc Mathematics and M.Sc Statistics was 98% each. The cut-off marks for other science courses are 96% for Chemistry, 97% for Botany, and 94% for Zoology.
Ninety-six per cent is the cut-off mark for M.Com and MA Economics respectively, while the corresponding figure for MA History is 85 per cent. For MA English and MA Malayalam, the cut-off mark is 96%. All seats have been filled for M.Sc Mathematics, M.Sc Statistics, M.Sc Botany, M.Sc Zoology, M. Com, MA Economics, MA English, and MA Malayalam.
Mr. Krishna Kumar said the college had signed an agreement with the National Informatics Centre for supporting the admission process. It will also help the institution in providing software support for conducting examinations, besides carrying out office automation and networking of all departments this year.