Online admissions yet to gather pace

Coimbatore: The idea of online admission doesn’t seem to have evoked much response from the parents, who are by and large reluctant to admit their wards to a college sans visiting the campus. While the state has asked self-financing and aided colleges to conduct admissions online because of the pandemic situation, majority of the city colleges say the response has been poor and seats are filling up very slowly. Another reason for this might be lack of internet know-how among the people in rural areas.
A day after Class XII results were declared, the directorate of collegiate education had on July 17 directed arts and science colleges to conduct admissions only online. Some colleges are admitting students directly on a first come first serve basis, and others are just collecting applications and admissions would be made based on the merit list.
While most colleges already have an online portal for downloading application forms and uploading them, this year they have introduced online fee payment methods. Some colleges have also taken the extra mile to guide the parents and students through the process over phone.
A Ponnusamy, principal, Hindusthan College of Arts and Science, said they were seeing only around 100 applications a day this year, compared to 250 last year. “Usually, parents would wish to visit the college campus and assess the facilities before they admit their wards. It seems they are a bit reluctant to admit children online.” Ponnusamy is also president of Principals’ Association of Bharathiar University.
B L Shivakumar, principal, Sri Ramakrishna College of Arts and Science, expressed a similar view. “Parents from other districts would want to visit the college hostel before admitting their wards. We have been getting calls from parents expressing this concern.”
Citing restrictions on movement and difficulties in getting e-passes, people from neighbouring districts such as the Nilgiris said they were in a fix. “My cousin had scored 540 marks and she wanted to pursue BCom in a college in Coimbatore. We initially hesitated, as we were not sure of the hostel and other facilities. We then inquired our friends and acquaintances there before taking her admission in a college of her choice,” said an Ooty resident over phone.
People from rural areas are, meanwhile, finding it difficult to follow the online procedures. College representatives said they would guide them over phone or WhatsApp. “In our website, we have provided contact numbers of all department heads and professors. They would guide the parents and students through the process,” said a representative of Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women. “If they are not able to make online payment, there is an option to pay it in banks and send us a photo of the receipt.”
He also admitted that the number of students taking admissions in a day was low. “Usually, majority of the seats get filled in three days. But this year, it seems it will take another week.”
Infographic:
Number of arts and science colleges in the city: 55
They include autonomous, aided and self-financing colleges
Total number of seats in these colleges: More than 70,000
Sought-after courses: BCom, BCA, BSc Computer Science, BSc IT, BA English, BSc Maths, BSc Biotechnology
Demand high for commerce, computer science
Coimbatore: When it comes to sought-after courses, BCom and BSc computer science as usual top the choices of students. College representatives say seats for these courses are almost filled.
B L Shivakumar, principal, Sri Ramakrishna College of Arts and Science, said, “BCom seats have been filled and there are only a few seats left for BSc Computer Science.”
Principals and representatives of other city colleges too say the demand for commerce and computer science courses was high this year too, compared to other courses.
Students are, meanwhile, making a beeline for aided courses as fee is comparatively less for them. “Usually, parents prefer aided courses for their wards. This year, their number has swelled because of the economic situation. We are finding it difficult to fill seats for self-financing courses as the fee is a bit higher,” said a representative of a city college.
For Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA), the online application procedure was opened on July 15. So far, 97,441 candidates have registered and 72,581 of them have completed the payment procedure, said an official.
However, academics say it would take some time to know the trend as engineering courses have been losing favour in the recent past. The last date to apply for TNEA is August 16 and counselling is set to take place in September.