Exclusion of Class XII CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) and ISC (Indian School Certificate) scores, and lower pass percentage among Class 12 state board (HSC) students were reflected in the general merit lists released for first year undergraduate degree courses under University of Mumbai on Wednesday. Compared to the cut-offs last year, the lists saw a dip of between 6 and 17 percentage points in traditional streams as well as self-financed courses.
For aided courses (BSc, BCom and BA), the cut-offs by colleges affiliated to the university were anywhere between 6 and 14 percentage points lower than 2021, while for unaided courses such as BCom (accounts and finance) and BSc (computer science), the cut-offs ranged from 6 to 17 percentage points lower than last year. The same trend of lower cut-off percentages was seen with colleges under HSNC University (KC and HR colleges) released a day before.
This year’s drop in cut-off scores is in stark contrast to last year’s general merit lists, which saw a 10 to 13 percentage points jump compared to 2020, because board exams were cancelled due to the second wave of Covid-19 and instead students were assessed based on their performance across Classes X, XI and XII. The final results saw a massive increase of students in the 90% club.
Another reason for the lower cut-offs this year, college principals pointed out, is that non-state education boards like CBSE and CISCE (Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations) have not yet declared their Class 12 results, leaving these students out of the admissions fray thus far.
At Ramnarain Ruia College in Matunga, for example, the cut-off for its BSc course dropped from 88% in 2021 to 74% this year. Similarly, its BSc (biochemistry) course, which is self-financed, saw a massive dip of 17.67 percentage points, from 89.67% last year to 72% this year.
At St. Xavier’s College in Dhobi Talao, one of the city’s most popular colleges for humanities courses, the cut-off for its BA programme dropped by six percentage points, from 98% to 92%. At DG Ruparel College in Matunga, the cut-off for its self-financed BSc (computer science) programme dipped by 10 percentage points, from 85.83% in 2021 to 75.83% this year.
“There are two reasons for the drop in cut-off percentage this year. Firstly, Class XII students scored less in HSC exams since they were sitting for an offline exam after a gap of two years and had no writing practice. Secondly, results of Class XII CBSE and ISC students are still awaited and therefore their scores were missing when drawing up the merit list. Last year’s jump in cut-offs was an aberration,” Anushree Lokur, principal, Ruia College, said.
With non-state board students comprising 20%-25% of their strength, Lokur said the college would apply for a 10% additional seats as allowed by Mumbai University to accommodate CBSE and ISC students this year.
At St. Andrew’s College, Bandra, the first merit list for BA (mass media and communication) ended at 83.60% (for Arts), 83.17% (for Science), and 84.83% (for Commerce), nearly three to six percentage points lower than last year. At Usha Pravin Gandhi (UPG) College, Vile Parle, another popular choice for BMS (bachelor of management studies) aspirants, the merit list ended at 83.17% (for Arts), 89.17% (for Science), and 92% (for Commerce), nearly three to nine percentage points lower compared to last year.
The dip in cut-offs has put state education board students in an advantageous position. Typically, non-state board students score significantly higher than their state board counterparts, and with the admissions process currently excluding non-state board candidates, HSC students have been able to grab coveted seats.
This year, Class XII state board exams were held between March and the first week of April and the results were announced on June 8. However, non-state education boards conducted Class X and Class XII exams in May and June, and their results are expected in July. With HSC students constituting the largest group of students, University of Mumbai has released a circular allowing colleges to commence their admission process with state board students, while permitting them to decide how they want to accommodate Class XII non-state board students.
As a result, a few popular autonomous colleges like Jai Hind, NM, Mithibai, and SK Somaiya are expected to release their merit lists for traditional and self-financed courses at a later date.
“Currently we are reserving 20%-30% seats for the other board students. There is a high demand for our self-financed courses and at least 30% of these seats are taken by other board students,” Anju Kapoor, principal of UPG College, said. “We are expecting the other board results to be released before the 3rd list so we can accommodate them. This is the tentative plan that we have, but we are still waiting for the guidelines from Mumbai University.”
While Marie Fernandes, principal of St. Andrew’s College, said the college would not reserve seats and would not ask for additional seats, the principal of Bandra’s RD National College, Neha Jagtani, said, “We ask for a 10% increase in seats every year. When those seats are granted, we will again release the merit lists so that the other board students can apply later on.”
(With inputs from Sreeyom Sil)