Maharashtra education department puts common admissions process on hold

The much discussed common online admissions process for entry level admissions, initiated by the state education department last year, has temporarily been put on hold.

Last year, the education department had announced that in order to streamline entry-level admissions, the entire admissions process would be conducted online. However, dismal online performance in RTE admissions has forced the department to rethink plans. File pic/AFP

Last year, the Education department had announced that in order to streamline entry-level admissions, the entire process would be conducted online to bring about parity in the process. However, dismal performance for the past two years in the online RTE admissions has now forced the department to rethink plans before turning it into a policy.

"We have conducted surveys and found out that there have been many errors in the RTE admission procedure, since it has not been understood by many. Our current aim is to streamline RTE admissions, then move towards common online process for entry-level admissions," said a senior official from the state Education department.

He added, "Too many court cases are being filed with the RTE admissions, and there are many errors as well, so our aim is to come up with a foolproof system." Jayant Jain, president of Forum for Fairness in Education (FFE), says that with a series of policies still pending implementation, the government is being unfair to students as well as parents.

"Be it the Fee Regulation Bill or the State Universities Act, so many policies are still only on paper," added Jain. The Education department, however, seems to be determined to get the common admission process in place. "The coming academic year, RTE admissions will be a smooth process. Schools will also follow the age criteria based on our previous government resolution.

Once the base is set, it won't take long to put in place a process, to ensure admissions to all entry-level classes. Irrespective of the board of education, they will be conducted at the same time," concluded the official.