Despite a round of first counselling conducted by government colleges of Ludhiana to fill 930 vacant seats of post-graduate (PG) courses, low responses were received for admissions on Tuesday.
Following low enrolment, many seats are lying vacant at The Government College for Girls (GCG), Government College of Science Education & Research and SCD Government College, the only three government colleges in Ludhiana that provide PG courses.
A total of 930 post-graduateseats are offered across these three colleges in various departments, including science, arts and commerce. However, only 670 responses were received, leaving 250 seats vacant.
The situation was particularly grim at the Government College for Girls, where only 173 seats out of the offered 320 received responses, resulting in 46% of vacant seats after the first round.
Among the courses, masters of commerce witnessed the highest response, with 39 out of total 40 seats filled. In contrast, MA musical instruments managed to gather only five responses out of 40, while MSc IT, MA fine arts, and MSc cosmetology secured 22, 12, and 21 responses respectively, out of the 40 seats offered for each course.
Attributing the poor enrolment to various factors, a senior professor from the GCG said, “The response has been declining over the past four to five years, mainly due to the large-scale migration problem that Punjab is currently grappling with. Additionally, many of these courses do not promise secure job prospects, making them less favourable from a student’s point of view.”
The Sanmati Government College of Science Education and Research in Jagroan faced a similar situation. Out of the total 80 seats offered under two courses, only 16 and 31 responses were received for MSC botany and MSc chemistry respectively, leaving 45% of the seats vacant. Professor Jitender Singh, the head of the botany department, pointed to the brain drain problem as a major factor, along with the allure of better-paying jobs abroad after completing undergraduate studies.
{{/usCountry}}The Sanmati Government College of Science Education and Research in Jagroan faced a similar situation. Out of the total 80 seats offered under two courses, only 16 and 31 responses were received for MSC botany and MSc chemistry respectively, leaving 45% of the seats vacant. Professor Jitender Singh, the head of the botany department, pointed to the brain drain problem as a major factor, along with the allure of better-paying jobs abroad after completing undergraduate studies.
{{/usCountry}}SCD Government College, offering a range of PG courses, also recorded a low response rate. With 530 seats available, the college received 450 responses, leaving 15% of the seats vacant. MA in English and economics gathered the most responses, filling 106 and 98 seats respectively out of 120.
However, MA geography, MA Hindi, and MSc IT courses faced challenges with only 25 out of 40, 48 out of 60, and 25 out of 30 seats offered, respectively.
SCD Government College media coordinator Harmeet said, “The requirement of IELTS band scores after under graduation (UG) is 6.5, which climbs to eight bands after the PG. This prompts students who aim to settle abroad to move after completing their UG, leaving a lower turnout for master’s courses. Furthermore, the lack of employment prospects in the region contributes to these circumstances.”
The data are based on the first round of counselling, and a clearer picture is expected to emerge after September 15 when the counselling session concludes.