In the quest for pre-university colleges to become ‘gender equal’, admissions seem to have become gender discriminatory.
Despite assurances that the differential cut-off system will be done with, the Education Department has not issued any circular to this effect. What this means is that the increasingly unpopular system of different cut-off marks for girls and boys will continue.
In certain streams and in highly-sought-after colleges, this can make a big difference. For instance, the cut-off in PCMC (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Commerce) at the popular Sheshadipuram PU College is 88.16% for boys and 75.04% for girls. However, for SEBA (Statistics, Economics, Business Studies and Accountancy), girls have to get 5% higher than boys.
“When girls score better marks in SSLC exams, their cut-offs go up. In our college, we have a few combinations where the cut-offs for boys is higher,” said P. Narayana Swami, Principal, Sheshadipuram PU College.
At Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College, V.V. Puram branch, the cut-off in science is 89% for girls and 88.5% for boys. In the commerce stream, it is 85% for girls and 84% for boys.
In the sought-after MES PU College in Malleswaram, the difference in cut-off for girls and boys is one percentage point with girls having to score more to get admission. “Girls tend to perform better and hence their cut-off is higher,” says H.E. Natesh, Vice-Principal of the college.
“The reason is to ensure equal distribution of seats among boys and girls,” says G.K. Manjunath, Principal of Sheshadipuram Composite PU College.
Students upset
But for students, the system seems unfair.
Ankita Prakash is seeking admission in a PCMB (PCM, Biology) course in which the cut-off for girls is 77% compared to 72% for boys. “It is wrong to be partial to one gender,” she says.
Shruthi Desarla, another student, favours change. “There is no reason for having a separate cut-off list for boys and girls. We are at an age where both genders are equally competent and competitive,” she says.
Even some male candidates believe the system should be scrapped. Mohit U. Thodaskar, a student seeking a SEBA course, says, “Whatever be the stream, it is unfair to have separate cut-offs for boys and girls. Merit-based admission is the ideal way to ensure equality.”
