New GO gives more freedom to minority colleges

THE CONTENTIOUS issue of admission to professional courses of minority institutions has surfaced yet again with the Minorities Welfare Department issuing a new GO that allegedly favours the minority college managements, which would be in control of the admission procedure rather than the University authorities or the Higher Education Department.

With a few changes to the GO no.1, 2000, which made mandatory for all the minority colleges to make public the selected list and surrender the vacant seats to the respective conveners to be filled with the available minority candidates and selling the application forms through the A.P. State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE), the new GO (No.150, 2000) was issued recently, causing anger among people fighting a transparent procedure.

The latest GO facilitates more freedom to the college managements which can publish the list of candidates after the completion of admissions. It also allows selling of admission forms rather than supplying them free of cost and collection of registration fee as well.

"This precisely is the problem. They will sell the application forms to the candidates of their choice thus denying an opportunity to genuine students. Moreover, how many students can afford to apply in three of four colleges if they have to spend Rs.200 at each college", asks Mr. Mazhar Hussain, convener of A.P. Minorities Educational Rights Protection Committee (APMERPC).

A prolonged struggle by APMERPC and some individuals had what resulted in the earlier G.O. last year, which put some curbs on the "unscrupulous" practices of some minority colleges.

But, the managements point out that the new GO facilitates the students to approach the Minority Welfare Department if any college refuses to provide the application form. "There would not be any wrongdoing as being alleged by some people with the new GO clear on all the specific issues raised by them", says a correspondent of a minority college.

The APSCHE too maintains that the new GO equally secures the interests as the earlier GO, if it is implemented in toto. Prof. V. Jayarami Reddy, secretary, APSCHE, says that the admissions cannot be done in a surreptitious manner now.

However, the APMERPC questions the motive behind amending the earlier GO. Mr. Hussain says that surrendering of seats pertains only to the undergraduate courses. According to him, the GO is conveniently silent on the PG courses and the managements are bound to take advantage of it.

The bone of contention between the managements and the APMERPC is over the admission of some non-minority candidates into professional courses. While the managements had been maintaining all these years that qualified minority candidates were not available, the APMERPC published a report on the number of qualified candidates to negate their claims.

New PG programme for BCA students

A NEW Masters programme in Informatics being designed by the APSCHE would save a precious academic year for the BCA students aspiring to go abroad for higher studies after completion of the course.

The first batch of BCA students, which is to pass out in 2000- 2001 academic year had no other option till now but to do the three-year MCA course for obtaining a PG degree. Particularly, at loss were the students wishing to go abroad for the Masters programme as 16 years of study was a pre-requisite for securing admission in a foreign university.

The Masters programme, which is being tailored with the help of experts in universities and the industry would equip the students with not only a PG degree but also the necessary skills needed for the industry. Prof. C. Subba Rao, Chairman, APSCHE, says efforts are on to offer a one-year diploma course for students going abroad and a fullfledged two-year PG course in Informatics.

However, extreme care is being taken in selecting the colleges to offer this course. A rigorous plan of accrediting the 400 odd BCA colleges is being taken up. Only those colleges which would be accreditated and have a tie-up with the industry would be permitted to offer the Master's programme.

R. RAVIKANTH REDDY

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Section  : Southern States
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