Admission process is yet to start; students face uncertain future

PURSUING HIGHER EDUCATION

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Nearly two weeks after the declaration of the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) and Higher Secondary (HS) examinations results, Cotton University and other leading institutions have failed to start the admission process due to lack of clarity from the State Government.

For the majority of meritorious students from Assam and other parts of the Northeast, Cotton University has been the first choice for undergraduate studies. But for the first time, the university can open the online admission form submission for bachelor degree courses as well as HS first-year courses even nearly two weeks after the announcement of the results.

"Cotton University has major courses in all subjects for bachelor's degree courses.

Without conducting an admission test, it is not possible to enrol students merely based on statistical formula-based results. The Directorate of Higher Education has asked government-run institutions not to charge fees during the process of submitting admission forms. Under such circumstances, it is difficult for us to open the online portal for admission. We need a certain amount of fees to conduct the entrance tests and meet other expenditures," a source in the university said.

Sources said the number of applicants seeking admission into Cotton University will be huge this time as the number of top scorers in the boards' examinations results was unprecedented. But the State Government has not issued any instruction or guideline as to how to conduct the admission process to accommodate a huge number of students. "So we are in a fix to open the online admission form submission process. An entrance examination will have to be conducted to select genuinely meritorious students," a faculty at Cotton University said.

The online admission form submission process at B Borooah College, Gauhati Commerce College and other leading colleges has also come to a halt due to a lack of clarity from the government.

Also Read: As admission crisis looms over students, their fate hangs in balance

Also watch: