Engg management quota : Your admission under scanner

• Admissions under management quota legal scrutiny
• Colleges may fill up vacant seats with Inter pass outs

The aspirants seeking admission into first year B Tech courses in private engineering colleges through management quota have been advised by Department Higher Education to be cautious as their admission will be thoroughly under legal scrutiny. The same rule applies to the colleges as well since the case pertaining to category B admissions is still pending before a two-judge bench.

As per the directive of a single judge bench, the Higher Education Council has released some guidelines to students and colleges. The crux of the direction of the Court was that merit should be the only criterion and all students be given a chance to apply. Although the guidelines were mentioned in GOs 74 and 75, the officials have issued again, apparently to caution the students against making a fake admission or through back door methods.

There is a danger of filling up of vacant seats in management quota on the basis of marks secured in Intermediate. As huge number of seats may remain vacant due to more number of intake in several colleges- the managements may resort to foul means to make some bucks, an official expressed doubt.

One of the guidelines issued by the Council says that “If seats still remain unfilled such seats may be filled on merit basis with candidates securing not less than 45% (40% in case of candidates belonging to reserved categories) in the prescribed group subjects taken together/aggregate marks in the qualifying examination”. This provision may be misused and if the Council does not make a thorough scrutiny of all the admissions made under Category B, there is every possibility of misuse, the official added.

Guidelines
As per the admission criteria mentioned by the Council in its notification, the process of counselling and admissions under category B shall be done simultaneously with Category A, ie convener quota, which is being done online. The colleges should publish in at least two leading news dailies the courses and number of seats offered at their institutions. The issue of applications should also be done on the same date as mentioned in their notification and they have to make available the performa application on its college notice board and also on its website.

The students who seek admission in the respective colleges of Engineering can download the application form, fill it and forward the same to the respective colleges by Registered Post with acknowledgement due. The management of the college should also provide the facility for the students to apply on-line. The data pertaining to applications received from the candidates day wise should be made available on the website of the college for the convenience of the candidates in a transparent manner, which shall be scrutinised by any Officer authorized by the Competent Authority (here the Higher Education Council). All duly filled in applications received by the managements from the applicants either by post or

online should be considered and merit list of eligible applicants shall be prepared in the descending order of merit. The merit list so prepared shall be exhibited by the managements on its website and also on the notice board at least for 2 weeks. The admissions against the seats available to the extent of prescribed percentage of intake should be carried out in descending order in merit amongst the applicants. The college shall obtain ratification from the Competent Authority for all the admissions conducted under category-B seats by the institution.

This is the first time that ratification would be done by the Council after the allocation of seats in their colleges by the managements. The strict guidelines are framed apparently to thwart any attempt by the management in denying applications to the aspirants as was done in case of medical admissions. The Council should careful in granting ratification to the merit lists of colleges; else it may end up in legal tangles.