Class XI exam looms; admissions far from over

Not only that, colleges say that the students joining in through later rounds are those who have lesser scores, which means teachers have to devote extra time for these students to help them catch up with other students.

Ramchandra Jadhav, deputy director of education, Pune conceded that the admission process had been delayed this year, but said it was because it went completely online for the first time and because the process came to a standstill for a few days while waiting for court directions. “The sixth round of admissions is still going on and we have about 500-600 students left. Besides that, on Monday, we have to decide about the 5,000-odd students from Pune region who have qualified afresh for FYJC admissions or are eligible for improvement after results of SSC supplementary exams were declared. Once all rounds of admissions are done, we are going to send out a notification to all junior colleges asking them to ensure that extra classes are taken, even in Diwali vacations, to ensure that syllabus of all students are completed,” he said.

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At Garware College, principal Shrikant Gupta said they still had about 50-60 seats left to fill. “We got the first batch of students according to merit by July 15 and classes had started then. In subsequent batches, students kept joining in, a process going on till now. This year, the schedule is delayed considerably. So, for the students who are joining in now, we have to cover up the syllabus portion for the last one-and-a-half months. Besides the theory, the students have missed practicals too. So, our first priority is to ensure that all the practicals are completed for students, for which we have started extra classes. When the rest of the admissions are given and students join in, we have decided to hold extra lectures on weekends and even during Diwali vacations, if need be. Our exams are scheduled around October. By then, we will take stock of the completed syllabus portion and accordingly set the exam papers,” he said.

At Fergusson College, where almost all admissions have taken place, principal R R Pardeshi said a schedule for extra classes was already being drawn up. “Last year too, we had to go for extra classes since admissions happened through CAP process and the dates of joining were not uniform. But this year, we already have had six rounds of admissions and process has been much longer,” Pardeshi said.

A similar situation exists at Sardar Dastur Junior College. According to principal Savitha Kamthe, classes began on July 15 and by last week of August, when a new batch of students joined in, unit tests exams were already conducted for students admitted earlier. “We won’t be able to conduct unit tests again. But to complete the syllabus, teachers have been asked to devote one hour extra everyday. Besides that, we have classes scheduled on Saturdays. Though we are confident we will be able to catch up before Diwali, we may think of vacation classes too. The delay in the schedule not only affects students but also teachers whose dedication is commendable as they are working extra without complaints,” she said.