University of Mumbai releases third merit list for UG courses

St Xavier’s College in south Mumbai, a popular destination for students, has added an extra division of 65 seats each in self-financed courses including bachelor of mass media (BMM) and management studies (BMS) this year to incorporate a high number of applications for these courses.

As the University of Mumbai (MU) released the third and final merit list for undergraduate (UG) degree courses on Monday evening, at least one coveted college added extra divisions to select courses this year owing to the increase in demand.

The first merit list of the University of Mumbai was announced earlier this month. (HT FILE)

St Xavier’s College in south Mumbai, a popular destination for students, has added an extra division of 65 seats each in self-financed courses including bachelor of mass media (BMM) and management studies (BMS) this year to incorporate a high number of applications for these courses.

“State government gave us a letter stating that being an autonomous institute we need not go through the regular process for permission to start a new course or new division to the existing numbers. This will only be for the current batch, and will be functional till the current batch graduates,” said Rajendra Shinde, principal of St Xavier’s College.

Earlier this month, the state government released a circular addressing it to universities and respective affiliated colleges stating that due to a higher number of students completing Class 12 this year which automatically increased the number of candidates applying for admissions, colleges have been given the option to add an extra division to certain popular courses to accommodate all students.

While the government feels this decision will help accommodate more students in undergraduate degree courses, many colleges feel this will not be helpful for all.

“Adding a new division will not be an easy task for colleges. While this can be managed while classes are online, soon colleges will reopen and then colleges will grapple with infrastructure constraints,” said the principal of a south Mumbai college.

Overall, cut-offs in most popular colleges dropped less than a percentage point from the second to the third merit list. At RA Podar College in Matunga, cut-offs dropped by less than a percent point for BCom and BMS courses — from 95.7% in the second merit list to 95.2% in the third one.

Similarly, at Mithibai College in Vile Parle, overall cut-offs across courses dropped by one to three percent points. For BCom course, it dropped from 96.3% to 93.4%.

The first merit list announced earlier this month pushed cut-offs across popular colleges to 10-13% points higher compared to last year.

Rising Covid-19 cases forced most school education boards to scrap Class 12 board exams this year and instead promote students based on their past performance and that during the year, following a 30:30:40 formula. This led to a rise in the overall score of students from all boards. While CBSE and ISC schools witnessed a hike in the number of students scoring 90% and 95% in their batches, the state board witnessed a 12-fold rise in the number of students scoring 90% and above this year, including 46 students who scored a perfect 100%.