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Class 11 admissions in Chandigarh: Only 17 students apply for 1,375 vacant seats
As only 100 more applications are expected by Monday noon, the last day to submit applications, majority of these seats are likely to remain vacant
The UT education department has received just 17 applications for the 1,375 vacant Class 11 seats at city’s government schools that will be allotted through the fourth counselling round on Monday (October 9).
As only 100 more applications are expected by Monday noon, the last day to submit applications, majority of these seats are likely to remain vacant.
The counselling process is unlikely to go on for any further, as the department has to send details of all Class 11 students to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) by October 12 to register them for the Class 12 board exams.
In the third counselling, held in September, 587 students had applied for 1,583 seats. However, when the fourth counselling was scheduled, 1,375 (86.8%) seats were still unclaimed. This implies that only 208 seats were actually claimed after the third counselling, even as all 587 students were allotted seats.
Speaking about this, officials said it was likely that these students had already secured admission in private schools after the second counselling itself, but filled the form for a government school seat nonetheless. When the third counselling was held in September, the academic session had already begun across city schools.
UT school education director Harsuhinderpal Singh Brar said, “The numbers are being examined in detail. However, in previous years also, it was seen that while around 13,500 seats were designated for Class 11, only around 12,000 students sit for the Class 12 board exams. Even this year, we have around the same number of students, as many didn’t end up joining even after being allotted seats.”
The students have to submit the forms at the District Education Officer (DEO) office in Sector 19 by Monday noon. The fourth counselling will be done offline at the office on Monday itself.
Separate term exams
As the term exams for Class 11 are over at government schools, the UT education department is likely to hold separate exams for the new students.
The department officials had earlier said the lower intake this year will help them to address the teacher-pupil ratio issue, which is supposed to be 1:40 as per the National Education Policy (NEP). This is also the first time that all eligible government school students have gotten admission in Class 11, as envisioned by the UT education department in their reservation policy announced this year.
Before the first counselling, a total of 13,875 seats were up for grabs. Of the total seats, 11,794 (85%) were reserved for students who completed Class 10 from a government school in Chandigarh, while 2,081 (15%) were available for general pool. The matter regarding reservations is sub judice in the Punjab and Haryana high court.
