PATIALA, June 9: The Punjabi University today decided to scrap the entrance test for admission to MA and BA honors school classes in affiliated colleges of the university.A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of principals of affiliated postgraduate colleges of the university held under the chairmanship of Joginder Singh Puar, Vice-Chancellor of the university, on the university campus here today.The university, however, has left it to the college principals to hold the entrance test for admission to these courses if they so desired and there would be no bar on them for holding such tests.The university has made it necessary that students would have to secure at least 50 per cent marks both in aggregate and in the subject concerned in BA examination for admission to MA class.Colleges have been directed not to accept any application form for admission to these courses after the closing date. The colleges would send a merit list immediately after the closing date to the university. This has been done to check malpractices in admissions.Entrance tests for admission to MA courses in different subjects in the university teaching departments as also in various vocational and science courses would continue, it was decided at the meeting.The Punjabi University had been, till last year, conducting centralised entrance tests for admission to postgraduate courses in the university teaching departments and in affiliated colleges.Certain college principals had been complaining that because of tough entrance tests, a number of seats in postgraduate courses in their colleges remained vacant causing a loss of revenue. Incidentally, there were no admission seekers for MA Punjabi in two local colleges.A local college principal, when contacted, said that this may help check possible retrenchment of teachers in colleges but it was hardly in the interest of quality education.
