Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

New policy drives students to Deemed Universities

V. Jayanth

Confusion over new admission policy

CHENNAI: : Now that the Government has passed the order on the new admissions policy for professional courses, Anna University has begun its job in right earnest.

But students remain as uncertain as ever, not knowing what to do. Even those with very high scores are wondering whether they will get admission to the course of their choice in a "good college."

The immediate fallout of the order seems to be a rush for seats in the deemed universities and for the management quota seats in the private self-financing colleges. Students, earlier confident of securing seats of their choice, have decided not to take any chance. They would rather ensure a seat they want than wait for the single window system to begin the counselling, perhaps in the second week of July.

"Disappointed and frustrated"

Parents and students interviewed say they are "disappointed and frustrated" at this eleventh hour change of course. It has upset their plans. "We knew that many of the deemed universities have completed admissions. But we managed to get a seat in at least the second choice of course of my son, who has scored 94 per cent in the Plus Two-entrance test combine," says K. Vaithialingam.

For the record, the private self-financing colleges say they will wait for the Subramani committee's ruling on admission to the management quota. But, in private, most of them have completed admissions. The problem they face is an "unexpected reduction" in seats and, that too, in the premium courses such as computer science, information technology and electronics and communication engineering. They are busy trying to restore status quo in seats before they think of admitting more students. Managements agree that there is a fresh rush of candidates seeking high-priced seats.

There are at least three categories of students who are "thoroughly frustrated" by the policy: students from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools; those who have taken the "improvement marks" test either for the Plus Two papers or the entrance test itself; and students from the `other communities'.

The principals and students of CBSE schools have been phoning in to convey their frustration and seek information on the avenues open to them. They want the Union Ministry of Human Resources to get "justice" for them. They would like the Centre, or any of its agencies, to start a professional college for the CBSE students.

"The CBSE topper for the country is from Chennai, and that student is now not sure of a seat in a good college in Tamil Nadu. That is the pity," says a principal.

Students who lost a year in their attempt to improve their marks feel "cheated." If only the Government had announced its policy in February or March, they would have been better prepared for this disappointment. They will now have to seek admission to arts or science courses.

As for the `other community' students, the pressure on the seats in the open category of 31 per cent will be so much more, going by the flood of centum in the State Board Plus Two examinations. Aside from filling up the seats under the reserved quotas, adding up to 69 per cent, the bright students from all those communities will also fill up seats in the open pool. So they will fight for far fewer seats this time.

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