The shortcomings in the special allotment conducted by universities and autonomous colleges for admitting students belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have come to the fore as the aspirants get ready to join the programmes of their choice in the new academic year.
The lack of clear norms for holding the special allotment has often denied students an opportunity to join the various undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, according to a memorandum submitted before the Department of Higher Education by Adishakthi Summer School, a collective set up by the Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha to facilitate the educational empowerment and skill development of tribal students.
“We have requested the authorities to include clear guidelines for conducting the special allotment while ensuring that maximum number of students gets the benefit of the admission process. With many students not having adequate online facilities, they often fail to complete the registration within the short window provided by the universities,” said Mary Lydia, State coordinator of Adishakthi.
The memorandum stated that the mandatory seats reserved for students belonging to SC/ST categories were often allotted under general and management categories, if vacancies arise after the spot allotment. The authorities have to ensure that the details related to the seat and vacancy position in the SC/ST category are published in advance. This would help in providing sufficient time to the aspirants to join their preferred programmes.
Steps have to be taken against converting the seats in the SC/ST category into the general category. The vacancy position after the main and special allotments has to be published on the official website of the universities and autonomous colleges. The Department of Higher Education could ask the universities to publish the norms for special allotment in the prospectuses for admission, it said.
