Kerala SC/ST commission takes suo motu case

Move based on media reports on lack of clarity in allotment process among SC/ST students over UG admissions

Kerala State government initiates steps to reopen higher education institutions

Kerala State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) has taken suo motu case based on media reports that students belonging to the SC/ST communities were losing out on the opportunity to enrol for the undergraduate programmes offered by the universities and its autonomous colleges owing to the lack of clarity in the allotment process.

A directive issued by the Registrar of the commission to the State universities stated that legal action will be taken against the erring institutions that failed to comply with the procedure prescribed in the publication of vacancy position and special allotment held for the aspirants.

The commission has come across complaints that the aspirants were not getting to apply for the courses of their choice, as the institutions did not publish details pertaining to the course-wise vacancy for seats reserved under the SC/ST category. The seat matrix, with details of the number of seats remaining for the courses available in a college or university, should be published on the website of the institutions concerned, it says.

The students have to be given adequate time to understand the admission process before the spot allotment. They must be provided with sufficient time frame to register and complete their application process. The short window to complete the process had often denied students from remote areas to participate in it and gain admission before the deadline. The university authorities have to ensure that the SC/ST students get admission in the seats reserved for them by adhering to the directives issued by the commission, it says.

The autonomous colleges had denied the allegations that information on the seats reserved for the SC/ST students were not published on the website. But the aspirants had pointed out that the information lacked the number of vacant seats available for each programme. Instead, the managements often asked the students to fill up an online form while saying that they would be intimated personally about the vacant positions.