Pune: The COVID-19 crisis was expected to be a dampener for admissions to various degree and certificate courses of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), but to the contrary, more students have opted for this 70 plus-year-old institution this year. Usually, SPPU receives around 25,000 applications, but this year the count has been crossed 20 days prior to the deadline.

Officials of SPPU were wary of the COVID-19 crisis and subsequent lockdown and expected a dip in the admissions especially those from outside Pune city. But, as per latest information, SPPU has received a total of 25,192 applications for degree and certificate courses including 96 subjects offered by its 53 departments. Officials say they expect 10 thousand more applications this year which will be a new record of sorts in such a crisis situation.

Other educational institutes have also reported a surge in applications for courses offered by them well before the deadlines expire. Students and their parents are hopeful that a vaccine for COVID-19 will be launched soon which is a major motivating factor for outstation students to apply for courses in Pune institutes. Conducive environment for education, affordable accommodation facilities in and outside campuses, quality of teaching and good connectivity are the other major factors behind students opting for admission in Pune University as well as other institutes located in the city.

SPPU has made the admission process entirely transparent and convenient for students through the online process on their website. This year the process started on June 1, amid the pandemic crisis. Applications were invited for about 6000 seats and a deadline of August 10 was set. SPPU has received maximum applications for the science and technology faculty courses with 15,803 applications so far. Humanities courses have received about 4499 applications against its total intake of 1,175 seats. For science and management courses, the university has received 942 applications so far against its intake of 220 seats. The interdisciplinary courses have received 1,223 applications so far for a total of 616 seats.

Edited by:
Khevna Pandit