A month left in academic year, Pune to have another round of Class XI admissions next week for vacant seats

As the academic year draws to a close and junior colleges prepare to conduct year-end examinations, the Deputy Director of Education, Pune (DyDE) has issued a notification that another round of admissions will take place on March 26 for vacant Class XI seats.

While the notification, issued on Friday, states that despite many admission rounds earlier, there is still a section of students who were not given a single allotment and the current round is meant only for those students, the move has come under criticism for its timing.

Every year, admissions are completed by the end of July and the academic session comes to an end by April the following year to enable Class XII classes to begin on time. This year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and later due to the Maratha reservation issue, there was an inordinate delay in Class XIth admissions, which finally took place in January.

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Colleges have since then been on a fast forward mode, trying to cover as much lost syllabus as possible. More importantly, colleges have only been able to catch up to the theory portion since practicals cannot be conducted online.
As junior colleges are grappling with these uncertainties, the announcement of yet another round of admissions has come as a surprise. “Yes, we agree that all students must get a fair chance and many students didn’t get a single allotment. But for all practical purposes, what are they going to learn in a month’s time? In April, junior colleges will be conducting Class XIIth exams since the board has already declared the schedule, which leaves barely one month for academics for Class XI. So, are these admissions taking place only to show numbers or for any real learning for students?” asked the principal of a junior college.

At St Mira’s College for Girls, principal Gulshan Gidwani said classes had started in January for Class XIth and by early April, they are anticipating end-year examinations. “We have to keep in mind that Class XIth is a preparatory year for next year’s board examinations. We have to finish the syllabus and exams in time to allow Class XII to begin as per schedule,” she said.

Meanwhile, the notification by DyDE states that on March 26, a first-come-first-serve (FCFS) round of admissions will be conducted for students who never got any allotment to Class XI in any college and there will be no further rounds of admissions after that.
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