Students in dilemma over listing 35 colleges in application form

Parents say filling the codes for 35 colleges is difficult and the guidance centres set up by the education department are also of no help. “My son wants to opt for arts,but there are only a few good arts colleges in the city. I am worried that our form would be rejected or cancelled if college codes are repeated. When we went to one of the guidance centres,they filled random college names instead of clearing our doubts,” said Vanita Narayan,a resident of Bandra.

Suzana Pinto,a resident of Prabhadevi and whose son scored 81 per cent in SSC,said it took her almost two days to submit the form though she could complete it in half an hour. “After listing 15 good colleges in MMR region,I had to list another 15 as per zone and then five more as per ward or talukas. After completing the form,the submit button on the website was missing,so I submitted the form the next day. I hope my son gets admission in one of the first 15 colleges that I have listed.”

However,officials said there was no confusion and the system had been created to facilitate students.

N B Chavan,assistant director of school education,said,“As per the new system,this year,students can give up to a maximum of 60 options. Last year,the students had fewer options and those students who did not qualify for any of the listed colleges online had to seek admissions outside. As a result,last year around 4,000 students had to seek recourse to the offline option for admissions on merit. We are trying to prevent this situation this year. The minimum number of colleges that had to be listed has been increased to ensure near total coverage.”