Over 8,000 seats under the self-financing mode for undergraduate programmes had no takers after the Mahatma Gandhi University closed its admission process in its affiliated colleges for the new academic year by the end of September.
The decline in demand came despite a directive by the Higher Education Department to extend the admission window for the undergraduate programmes of the university nearly two months after the classes started in its affiliated colleges. About 10,000 seats for various self-financing programmes had remained vacant last year, revealing the steady dip in demand for these courses. Interestingly, only 66 seats under the government category were remaining vacant in the affiliated colleges when the directive came to extend the admission process while the vacant position for the self-financing courses was about 8,300 seats. The number of vacant seats for aided courses was 515.
The increasing vacant seats for self-financing courses emerged after the university gave its nod for numerous programmes. The university had also sanctioned several batches in select affiliated colleges without any assessment of the demand and scope of such courses. For instance, an affiliated college in Ernakulam had an intake of nearly 110 students for a single batch of B.Com programme. Over 500 seats would be available in B.Com courses with different electives in the same college, leaving many of the seats unfilled, according to official estimates.
Sources close to the admission process said that government interference in the admission process had resulted in the loss of mandatory 90-day academic session in a semester for students, who had joined by availing themselves of the extended admission schedule. The admission window was opened after the Higher Education Department asked the university authorities to extend the process till September 30. The directive had quoted a note sent by the office of the Education Minister (dated September 20) stating that admission to arts and science colleges of the university could be extended till September 30 as the admissions to the professional colleges were not yet complete.
