MUMBAI: A decision on criteria for college admissions for non-professional courses will be taken only after HSC results are announced in the state.
In a preliminary meeting held between the vice-chancellors of state universities and the department of higher and technical education on Monday, many agreed if the evaluation model is fair and comprehensive, students should not be put through any hardships, said an official.
Discussions on a common entrance test (CET) for admissions to traditional non-professional courses—if necessary—will be considered after the results, he added.
Vice-chancellors and department officials deliberated over various case scenarios that could arise this year due to the cancellation of Class XII exams.
“Some are expecting the success rate to go up.
There may be several students scoring similar marks.
Even if we get to know the evaluation method, it will be difficult to predict how the results will turn out.
There is no point in framing an admission policy without understanding how the results will be,” said a vice-chancellor.
Officials unanimously agreed to wait till the board announces the results.
A meeting can be held the very next day and a policy can be drawn, added an official.
Officials also agreed while admissions to top-rung degree colleges, especially in the cities, could be challenging, those for more than 80% of the colleges in the state can be conducted smoothly based on Class II scores.
Colleges, too, are awaiting the state board decision.
“While autonomous colleges can decide their syllabi and other academic-related matters, admissions to aided courses are bound by state government rules,” said the principal of a suburban college.
Mumbai University alone has 42 autonomous colleges.
“If colleges conduct their own screening process, there will be clashes in schedules.
Parents and students may oppose it too.
For traditional arts, science and commerce courses, the majority of seats will go to in-house students but for self-financed courses, we will need some process,” said the principal.
Hemlata Bagla, principal of K C College and senior dean of HSNC University, said for courses with more demand, colleges can hold interviews or look at the overall performance of students in academics and co-curricular activities for three years.
For professional courses, the state’s CET cell will conduct entrance tests online like last year.
The application process is likely to start soon and test dates will be scheduled once the Covid situation stabilises across districts, said an official.