The score earned by the autonomous Maharaja’s College under the ‘perception’ parameter in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) seems to have generated increased demand for admission from students from across the State in the new academic year.
The first and second phase of the allotment for undergraduate programmes showed a spike in the number of aspirants from the northern districts. “We have students from Malappuram, Kozhikode, and Kasaragod applying for courses of their choice. Around 30% of the seats have been filled at the end of the first allotment for the nearly 720 seats available for 21 undergraduate courses,” said Zeenath N.A., faculty member of the Department of Physics and in-charge of admissions.
Among the six government colleges in the State that figured in the first 100 positions in the latest NIRF rankings, Maharaja’s College has the highest score of 18.8 out of 100 under the parameter of ‘perception’. The perception score of University College, Thiruvananthapuram, that had figured 25th in the rank list, was 14.37 while the corresponding figure of Government Women’s College (rank 46) was 13.42.
The score for the ‘perception’ parameter is arrived at based on the survey among professionals, employers from reputed organisations and academicians. Public perception is also taken into account while fixing the marks. K.S. Sunish, faculty member of the Department of Zoology and former member of the college governing council, referred to the multi-crore infrastructure and academic development works initiated on the campus with government support as a key factor in the improvement in perception about the institution.
Mathew George, Principal, said the number of seats for the postgraduate programmes had been enhanced in the new academic year to provide more access and opportunities to aspirants. Around 175 seats have been added to the existing intake capacity for 19 postgraduate programmes, he said.
The government had permitted increase in the number of seats under the inference that more students would apply for courses offered by higher educational institutions within the State amidst the pandemic situation.
