SSC results: Most students may join nearby colleges to avoid travel, risks

In light of the Covid-19 outbreak, some parents from the city are likely to send their children to nearby colleges to avoid travel and associated risks, said experts.

In light of the Covid-19 outbreak, some parents from the city are likely to send their children to nearby colleges to avoid travel and associated risks, said experts. Principals said this trend might be seen clearly in commerce and science streams, with several junior colleges spread across the eastern and western suburbs.

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Vidyadhar Joshi, vice-principal, VG Vaze College, Mulund, said top scorers from the science stream are more likely to opt for a nearby college.

“Anyway, one can see a large number of top scorers opting for small junior colleges because they want to focus more on preparing for the entrance examinations. This year, more students are likely to do the same,” said Joshi.

For students who live in the suburbs, travelling to colleges in central and south Mumbai, with the risks involved with local train travel, might be a big no-no.

“My daughter wants to take commerce and pursue CA. She is a bright student and was planning to try for colleges in south Mumbai. But we don’t know how long the Covid-19 scare would last and hence don’t want to take our chances. We are convinced that her safety is more important than anything else and she agrees. We will look for a good nearby college for her,” said Tushar Mehta, a parent from Goregaon.

Anushree Lokur, principal, Ramnarain Ruia college in Matunga, said the situation might be different for the arts stream. “For arts, students usually prefer good colleges as students come to these colleges to get an overall experience of the space. For science though, this might be the trend,” she added.

The principal of a reputable college from the eastern suburbs said the trend might be for good.

“It is time parents realised that any college which has relatively good infrastructure and teaching is a good college. There is a need to rethink the idea of what constitutes a top college. If parents start preferring nearby colleges, they will also get better with time and with meritorious students going there, their scores would be better too,” he said.