Mumbai college denies admission to open school student, NGO alleges discrimination

Mumbai city news: The principal said that the college prefers regular students over those who appear privately for Class 12 examination.

A Mumbai-based non-governmental organisation has accused a South Mumbai college of denying admission to a student with learning disability on the grounds that the student took Class 12 exam at National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) instead of a regular college.

Picture for representation (HT File)

According to Child Reach, the NGO, the student, whose identity wasn’t revealed, and her parents were turned away by KC College in Churchgate although the student’s name was in the third merit list of BA.

“The student was refused admission and spoken to rudely. The student was disheartened and went home in tears. Parents were not allowed to be with her in the office when she had to get her admission form signed by the authority,” said Priya Deshpande, founder member of Child Reach.

College principal Hemlata Bagla claimed ignorance about the incident but said that the college prefers regular students over those who appear privately for Class 12 examination.

“We first admit the regular students and there is any vacant seat, private candidates are admitted. This is because the students may not have studied in Class 11 and may have directly appeared for Class 12 exam,” she said, adding that the college also defers admission of students who take a break after Class 12 examination.

KC College is not the only higher education institute in the city to have such a policy.

Ashok Wadia, principal of Jai Hind College in Churchgate, said they also prefer regular students. “Many a times, students don’t have the necessary background for a course. They wouldn’t have studied some important subjects. In such cases, we counsel the students and make them understand that they may not be able to cope up with the degree course. The colleges have the discretion to decide whether to admit a student,” he said.

However, Parag Thakker, principal of HR College, also in Churchgate, said that it the decision is discriminatory. “If they make it to the merit list, we have to admit them,” he said.

An official from the University of Mumbai (MU) said it accepts students from all the boards, including NIOS, without any preference. “It’s wrong to deny admission to a student on the basis of their board. The aggrieved student must approach the university Student Grievance Redressal Cell to resolve the matter,” he said.

MA Khan, MU registrar, said, “If a college denies admission to a meritorious student, they must have a valid reason. There must be no discrimination among students from regular boards, but NIOS students may not have been subjected to the same level of testing as students from other boards. The university has decentralised the admission process. There’s a thin line of admission rules around which the colleges are deciding the matters. However, if someone complains, we will look into it.”