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Financial woes among parents impact college admissions in Ludhiana
Facing financial constraints due to job losses, pay cuts, losses in businesses, many parents have requested college principals to provide them more time to pay the fees.
The Covid-19 pandemic has induced a financial crisis, which has put adversely impacted college admissions in the city.
Facing financial constraints due to job losses, pay cuts, losses in businesses, many parents have requested college principals to provide them more time to pay the fees.
Principals of colleges affiliated with Panjab University stated that students were visiting colleges to buy forms, but a majority of them were not turning up to submit the forms citing financial problems at home. The percentage of students citing such reasons has increased from 10% earlier to 50% this year, said many principals.
At SCD Government College, the authorities are receiving 150 queries daily from students that are related to the admission process. Nearly 80% students are sending emails to the college stating that they are facing a financial crisis at home due to which they will not be able to submit the entire fee of their respective semesters. The situation is the same in other colleges.
OPTION TO PAY IN INSTALMENTS OFFERED
Principals are worried as fee-related issues will take a toll on the admission process and seats will also be left vacant. Kirandeep Kaur, principal of Master Tara Singh Memorial College for Women, said, “Parents and students are inquiring regarding the admission process, but due to financial problems, many are not turning for counselling. Parents are visiting the college and sharing their monetary problems. To provide them some relief, we have asked them to deposit the fee in three instalments.”
Principal of Mata Khalsa College, Kottan, Kuldeep Kaur Dhaliwal, said, “Students of 161 villages normally take admission here, but due to the pandemic, the process has been impacted. The major issue we are facing is parents have no funds, so the admission process has slowed down. When teachers contact students of second and final years regarding fees, many of them express inability and demand time. There is not much demand for BA, and BCom is still students’ first preference.”
For BCom and BA courses, SCD College charges approximately ₹7,600- ₹8,700; Government College for Girls charges ₹9,200 without practical, ₹10,000 with practical and ₹11,000 for BCom (first semester). However, for both the courses, private colleges are charging ₹16,000- ₹18,000 for BA and ₹18,000-₹21,000 for BCom.
Dharam Singh Sandhu, principal at SCD Government College, said, “Being a government college, the fee structure is already low and ranges between ₹5,000 to ₹12,000 which includes the examination fee. The charges differ from course to course.”
At Arya College, the authorities have already started with the counseling process for BCom, first semester. More than 100 students took admission in BCom on Friday, among which 50% students have opted for fee payment through instalments.
GOVT COLLEGES PREFERRED
Ramanpreet Kaur, a student from Mangli Uchi village, said, “I scored 92% marks in Class 12 and applied for admission in two girls colleges. My father runs a cloth shop and due to Covid -19, the shop remained closed for three months and we used the savings to survive. I am hopeful that I will get admission in BCom in a government college. I will request the authorities to allow my parents to pay the fee in instalments.”
Suresh Kumar, who hails from Doraha, said, “I have registered online for BA, first semester, in SCD college and Karamsar government college because of lower fee structure. My father was out of work for three months. I have decided to pay the fee in instalments and have submitted a letter to the college authorities to allow me.”
