‘Seats betterment system seems to be bottom to top’

MUMBAI: Ashok Wadia, principal of Jai Hind College, Churchgate, talks to HT about the how to improve the online system.

HT Image

Given the errors reported by students, is it really the best way to conduct admissions?

Considering the large numbers of FYJC aspirants and colleges in Mumbai, a centralised, online admission process is a good idea. It has spared students the trouble of running pillar to post and brought in transparency. But the problem is students haven’t understood the process and there are a few flaws. These are teething troubles that can be fixed but it should be done soon.

What flaws did you encounter in the system this year?

A lot of students are complaining they lost out on admission to my college by just a mark in the first two lists and didn’t get in even after the cut-offs fell. The department needs to examine how the system is allotting betterment of seats. There is no clarity on whether it is moving top to bottom or vice versa. It appears to be following a down to top approach, which is why students did not get betterment to their top five colleges.

Why did these problems not come to light earlier?

These problems were present even last year. But they were not highlighted this much because students had the option of changing their seat offline once the online process ended. There used to be a scramble for seats and students would cancel online seats and take admission to their preferred college offline. But this kind of a system compromises transparency.

Is the online admission system followed by the MU more suitable?

In the degree college admissions, students only register on the site, fill out individual college forms and colleges come out with merit lists on their own. But this system is not without its flaws. It doesn’t do justice to the students. The college merit lists are based on students that approached them on that day.

So how can the current online admission process improve?

The government needs to study how the system is giving betterment and rectify it if it is a down to top approach. During the summer break this year, we held a workshop for applicants. I think if it is done on a larger scale, it will receive a better response.