Over 28,000 seats vacant even as Std XI admissions in Nagpur reach final stages

NAGPUR: Even as Std XI admissions in city enter the final lap, vacant seats are still holding steady above the 28,000 figure. While some of this deficit may get covered after the entire admission process wraps up, it’s still unlikely that it will be anywhere near the average annual 18,000 vacancy.
In Nagpur city, all junior college admissions are done through Centralized Admission Process (CAP).
So what has caused this vacancy gap to increase? Mahesh Karajgaonkar, a retired senior education official who had started CAP in Nagpur over a decade and half ago, says this year the gap has increased because of Covid-19 pandemic. “In Nagpur city, students come from even outside the district and state. The reason so many outstation students were drawn to our city colleges is also because of a vibrant coaching class culture. They would stay in hostels and enrol in local classes and colleges. But this year that major chunk of thousands of students is missing,” said Karajgaonkar.
Ravindra Fadnavis, sarkaryavah, Maharashtra Rajya Shikshan Sanstha Mahamandal, said it's the rampant expansion of colleges which has led to this gap increasing. “There was a craze among colleges about increasing science seats and it went on for years. Education department was granting permissions to increase science sections in existing colleges without giving a thought to whether or not they had the requisite infrastructure,” said Fadnavis.
He believes it’s this increasing gap which has become more glaring in the last couple of years. “We currently have a case going on at the high court regarding Std XI admissions, and in our petition we have cited numbers which show this demand-supply disparity,” said Fadnavis.
Ashok Gavhankar, general secretary of Vidarbha Junior College Teachers Association (VJUCTA) said the vacant seats reflect ‘rural migration’. “Coaching institutes are herding students towards colleges with which they have a tie up. Most of these colleges are just outside city limits. Since rural colleges are not under CAP, admissions can be done there at one go for all students,” said Gavhankar.
Fadnavis said it is surprising that parents send their children to private unaided college even though ‘free’ education is available. “I fail to understand why parents don’t enrol in our colleges where education is free or fee is ridiculously low due to grant-in-aid status. Instead they will send them to colleges that charge a hefty sum and are even outside city limits,” said Fadnavis.