Mumbai: A day after the University of Mumbai (MU) announced its decision to start admissions for undergraduate degree courses without waiting for class 12 CBSE and ISC results, students and parents have hit panic mode. Many reached out to their school boards for an update on results as well as city colleges to better understand the admissions process.
With no clarity, a group of parents are planning to approach the Bombay high court, while some school heads are trying to meet state minister of higher education Uday Samant for help in this matter.
“Our students were giving exams till June 13. How can the university expect any results from our board within the next few days? ISC results are expected sometime next month, and it is only fair for MU to wait for all results to be announced before starting admissions,” said the principal of an ICSE school in south Mumbai.
She added that this move by the university is “uncalled for” especially in a year when students were worried about appearing for exams after a gap of two years.
“Would the university go ahead with admissions had the HSC result been delayed? Somehow, only non-state board students are targeted every time,” she added.
A principal stated that results for recently concluded ISC exams are only expected in mid-July, whereas the first, second and third merit lists as per MU’s schedule will be announced on June 29, July 7 and July 14, respectively.
A senior MU official told HT that the varsity will not be releasing any further circulars regarding admissions. “We have already stated that colleges will have to start admissions with HSC candidates, and once results for CBSE and CISCE board are announced, colleges can accept applications following the merit cut-off, and request the university for additional seats if required,” he said.
While the circular released by the university on June 20 states that all MU-affiliated colleges, including autonomous institutes, will have to follow the admission schedule as prescribed by the varsity and accommodate students from CBSE and CISCE boards “in due course”, it gives no clarity on how these applications will be accommodated by individual colleges.
“We are leaving this to individual colleges to decide how they want to conduct admissions—they can either reserve seats for non-state board students or request the university for additional seats once CBSE and ISC results are out,” he added.
Schools and students feel this will leave non-state board students with very few or no seats in top colleges and courses.
As per the university admissions process, eligible students from all boards have to compulsorily fill the pre-enrollment form, which requires basic details like name, age, name of the school, etc. Once the enrollment is done, students are then supposed to list their preference of college and courses, where the admission link directs students to the respective college website, and students are then allowed to fill in details of their class 12 scores.
With no marks in hand, CBSE and CISCE students are not getting directed to the individual college websites. Parents and students are worried that without being allowed to register for admissions with individual colleges, they will have no idea of the number of students interested in admissions.
“My wife and I have been visiting several colleges, and what we have noticed is that none of the colleges know how to handle admissions for non-state board students. We even met the deputy registrar of the University of Mumbai who assured us that admission will not begin without CBSE and ISC results, only to be shocked by the MU circular,” said the parent of a class 12 (ISC) student.
With very little clarity from the university, some colleges are now planning to wait and watch before they start the admissions process. “How can we start admissions without considering applications of all eligible students? The university has declared the schedule and directed colleges to seek permission for additional seats if required, but where will I accommodate such students? Some of us (colleges) are waiting for clarity,” said Krutika Desai, principal of Mithibai Autonomous College, Vile Parle.
