St. Xavier’s College in Ahmedabad has drawn attention from the education department for not following the centralized admission system. With the Gujarat Common Admission Services (GCAS) registration deadline approaching, higher education officials urgently summoned the college on Thursday.
Instead of using GCAS, the autonomous college has opted to conduct its own online admission process to fill its 2,300 first-year seats.
When asked for comment, Father Vinayak Jadav, principal of St Xavier’s College, confirmed meeting with education department officials. “We will consult our trustees on Friday and decide based on the consensus,” he said.
7 autonomous colleges join, Xavier’s stands alone
Sources close to the matter revealed that education officials have told the college management to admit students through GCAS. This portal is already used by 15 public universities and their affiliated colleges across Gujarat.
At least seven autonomous colleges in the state have opted to use GCAS, with St Xavier’s being the only holdout. In Ahmedabad, MG Science College and HL College of Commerce-both autonomous institutions-have already signed up for the centralised system. Xavier’s has now stayed away from GCAS for the second year running.
‘Minority status, quality of education at stake’
“The college was asked to join GCAS and admit students only through the common admission portal,” explained an official familiar with the discussions. “The college management reportedly argued that joining GCAS delays the start of academic sessions.”
They also claimed it “violates the right of minority students to get admission in the college, a minority college.”
Xavier’s administration has expressed worries about maintaining student quality through the GCAS system.
“Their main concern is they can’t verify if admitted students belong to minority groups on GCAS,” a source explained. “The college also has systems to counsel students about choosing the right course.”
The source added: “For example, if a Gujarati medium student wants to study English literature, the college runs tests to ensure they can handle the language change. This wouldn’t be possible with GCAS admissions.”
June 16 academic start at risk
College officials pointed at their plan to begin the academic year by June 16. They noted that GCAS admissions often run into late June or later, which would push back classes considerably. The college also mentioned problems with listing courses on GCAS in early April, when new academic programmes are still being planned.
◆ Only 1.09 Lakh Students Confirm Registration on GCAS
With the registration for Gujarat Common Admission Services (GCAS) closing on May 18, the education department is believed to be making efforts to increase registrations. According to the officials in know of the development, as many as 1.77 lakh students have registered online so far but only 1.09 lakh students have paid the registration fee, the last step of confirming the online registration. The education department has not yet declared the total number of seats on offer at 15 public universities in the state.
“Last year, as many as three lakh students had registered for GCAS. Going by this, the online registration this year is likely to be low if no concrete action is taken to increase registration. Efforts in this regard are important to stop students going to private universities,” said an official.
According to the GCAS website, 348 courses and programs will be offered this year across 2,555 colleges under 15 public universities.