Blame game over admission confusion

The CBSE decided to change the examination last academic year (2010-11). Students have faced several problems,ranging from hurdles in procuring marksheets from their respective schools to getting additional marks for participation in sporting activities. Subsequently,the bifocal admissions were delayed. A meeting to decide the schedule for bifocal admissions will be held on Monday.

M D Lawrence,principal,Marathwada Mitramandal College of Commerce,said,“Throughout the admission procedure,many loopholes in the CBSE pattern came forth,adding to the students as well as our troubles. However,the point is that if students do not pass the mid-term exam and are not allowed to continue with the course,it is difficult for both the colleges and the students. Obviously performance levels won’t be the same in both the exams.” Lawrence said if some of the smaller colleges lose many students like this,the whole equation of the functioning of the college may change.

A senior official in the Centralisted Admission Process Committee pointed out how the mid-term exam concept could be misused by students. “The idea of mid-term exams needs to be worked upon. The students who sat for the school exam did not need to study the whole portion while the other children had to cover the whole syllabus. But now,students who appeared for the school exam can get admission only by passing the mid-term exam,” the official said.

Meanwhile,the students are jittery. “The admissions have been postponed. So there are chances that the commencement of courses may get delayed. There are still several grey areas,” said Ritika Kale,who is hopeful of getting into Fergusson College. Lawrence said students need not panic. “The new schedule will be discussed in a meeting on Monday. The deputy director of education will try to come up with a schedule with minimal changes. The commencement dates of courses are unlikely to be affected majorly,” added Lawrence.

Bhagwan Thakur,principal of Nowrosjee Wadia College,said,“The CBSE should have anticipated these problems. They should have planned this a year in advance and held meetings with students and parents to inform them of the changes. Any major academic change should be implemented in a phased manner. The possible problems should have been studied and the board should have waited for another year before implementing the new pattern.”

Yaseer Sheikh,another student said,“We faced many problems while filling in the forms. We had not known then that we would need an affidavit with the Rs 100 stamp on it. I had to run from pillar to post on the day to get that formality done. All the requirements should have been clearly specified. Also,the idea of mid-term exams is hard to understand. Neither we nor our schools know what is going to be asked in the exams. Now all we can do is wait and watch.”