Scrap Std XI online admissions: Schools

Nagpur: Maharashtra Rajya Shikshan Sanstha Mahamandal (MRSSM), an association of school trusts, has written to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray demanding scrapping of online admission system for Std XI in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The association claims that the admissions get delayed every year because of the multiple round system and now due to the pandemic, it won’t make sense to prolong the process.
Ravindra Fadnavis, general secretary of the association, said, “The online admission process drags on till August because of the multiple rounds which keep on going endlessly. The delay was happening even though results were declared by June second week, sometimes earlier. But now here the results may not come out till July. That will push the online admission process completion to September or even October.”
MRSSM says in rural areas, where the online system is not applicable, admissions are completed ‘fast’. “We have observed that admissions are done within 20 days and junior colleges there start. So while the rural students are back in classes as early as June last week or as late as mid-July, their urban counterparts don’t enter college till August,” said Fadnavis.
He added that this is the reason why city-based students don’t prefer colleges here. “They prefer to take admissions in colleges which are just outside city limits. In Nagpur city, you can see the impact in number of vacant seats every year,” he said.
He added that in 2019-20 academic session, around 20,000 junior college seats in city were vacant. “In Aurangabad, there were 8,000 seats vacant. If this is the scenario, then where is the need to have an online system with multiple rounds,” said Fadnavis.
In the offline system, admissions happen with students directly approaching colleges and completing formalities. In online system, the education department carries on admissions through its proprietary software which is managed from its Pune headquarters. Students fill the forms online and opt for colleges and courses.