ATKT admission gets lukewarm response in city

It was a lukewarm response for colleges offering admission to Class 11 under the Allowed to Keep Terms (ATKT) scheme on Saturday, the second day of the admission procedure, reports Farah H Chitalwala.

It was a lukewarm response for colleges offering admission to Class 11 under the Allowed to Keep Terms (ATKT) scheme on Saturday, the second day of the admission procedure.

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At Ruparel College in Matunga which has 15 vacant seats for the arts faculty, only two students had taken forms till Saturday evening.

“The Education Department delayed communication to students about available vacancies, as it delayed communication to colleges about starting the admission process,” said Tusshar Desai, vice-principal of Ruparel College.

At Alpha Junior College of Science and Commerce in Vile Parle, only 80 forms have been sold for the commerce faculty as against the 250 that are vacant.

“I am not certain we will be able to fill all our seats,” said Keshav Pal, head of administration at the college.

On the other hand, students seem to be doing the rounds of the popular colleges where there are no vacant seats.

Like Muddassir Quassim (19) who visited Rizvi College and RD National College in Bandra to pick up forms.

“There were no vacant seats there. Finally, I got an admission form from Bandra Urdu High School and Junior College, Bandra (West).”

Assistant Deputy Director of Education (Mumbai), N.B. Chavan, confirmed that the admission process had been lower than expected.

“Based on feedback from regional officers, we feel the response today [Saturday] was low,” said Chavan. “However, as admission is still on, we cannot comment on the exact position.”

Chavan advised students to visit the 18 zonal co-ordination centres for details on colleges in each zone that have vacant seats.

Sources at city colleges and at the Education Department expect the admission process to pick up momentum on Monday.

Officials form the director’s office said guidelines about attendance and examinations missed by ATKT students would be passed next week.