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Government college admissions in Ludhiana: Applicants again far outnumber available seats for triple B’s
Despite high cut-offs and rejection rates, an increasing number of students peg their hopes on getting admissions into BCom, BBA & BCA courses at the Ludhiana’s government colleges
Securing a spot in top courses at the city’s government colleges remains a distant dream for a large number of students, with the applicants far outnumbering the total seats — resulting in high rejection rates.
Through the years, Bachelor in Commerce (BCom), business administration (BBA) and computer applications (BCA) have been the most sought-after courses. Despite high rejection rates, an increasing number of students peg their hopes on getting into these courses.
Satish Chander Dhawan Government College has received 1,149 applications for a paltry 140 seats in BCom, 673 for 40 seats in BCA and 598 for the 40 seats in BBA.
Similarly, 1,201 students sought admission for the 140 BCom seats, 557 for the 40 BCA seats and 465 for the 40 seats BBA at the Government College for Girls Ludhiana.
The Government College Ludhiana (East), where BCom was introduced this year, received a total of 917 applications for its 70 seats.
With cut-offs for BCom in open category at SCD College and Government College for Girls going as high as 108.40 and 109.6 respectively, hundreds of students returned home dejected. Several even made repeated trips to the colleges to check if their chances of getting an admission had improved.
Speaking of the same, Abhishek, who graduated from the government school in Sekhewal, said, “I worked very hard to score 90% in board exams to secure admission in BBA at the government college. Due to the costs, getting admission in a private college is not feasible. I wish that there were more seats at government colleges.”
“I missed the cut-off only by a few points. I am obviously upset as I had been hoping to make it to the merit list,” said Deepti, who applied for BCA at the government college for girls — where the cut off was 109.4.
The merit list for admissions was released last Saturday and students were required to deposit the admission fee by Thursday.
“As per the state’s reservation policy, 52% of the seats are for the open category, in which every candidate can apply, while 20% are reserved for candidates belonging to scheduled castes, 8% for backward castes, 13% for ex-servicemen/ex-servicemen dependent, 1% for freedom fighters, 3% for persons with disabilities and 3% for sports, respectively,” said Harpreet Kaur Jhajj, admissions convener at the SCD government college Ludhiana.
The vacant seats in specific categories such as ex-serviceman, PWD and freedom fighters will be filled through online open counselling starting from August 29.
The students, whose names appeared on the waiting list in various categories will also be admitted as per their category, said Baldev Singh, admissions in-charge at the Government College for Girls.
Students turn to alternatives
Failing to secure admission in courses of their choice, several students have also opted to change the stream just to be in with a shot to study at government colleges.
“I wanted to pursue B Com and become a chartered accountant in the future, but cannot afford private education. My name has not appeared on the merit list, but I have decided to pursue humanities now,” said Arshdeep Singh, who studied at a private school near Gill Chowk.
‘Only university can increase seats’
When asked about the limited number of seats, SCD government college principal Pardeep Singh Walia said, “The decision to increase seats is the prerogative of the university, only they have the right to decide in this regard.”
Admissions delayed for third consecutive year
The admissions at the government colleges have seen delays for the third consecutive year.
The process is running over a month behind schedule, which the teachers fear would short the academic session.
A teacher at the Government College for Girls said classes, in a pre-Covid setting, would start from August 1, adding, “This will negatively affect the studies as students need more time and effort to learn in a changed environment and with a new syllabus.”
