Midterm exams just days away, but...backdoor admissions still on at SP college

u00a0Layer by layer the veneer of propriety is peeling of Sir Parshurambhau SP College at Tilak Road as the pathetic state of affairs become more evident After MiD DAY raised theu00a0issue of womenrsquos safety or the lack of it at the institution lsquoSP college turns into haven for goons as female students teachers face frequent harassmentrsquo October 4 it has now emerged that the college is creating a new record by opening its lsquoback doorrsquo to admit around 75 students in class XI just ahead of the midterm exams On queue Prospective students at SP College yesterday PicSachin Thakare The whole drama of allotting seats was held at the office of Shikshan Prasarak Mandali the society that runs the institution yesterday which revealed some shocking facts For example many students who are yet to be enrolled have been attending the college for the past two months Since morning the societyrsquos office situated at the rear of SP College was teeming with prospective students parents and many selfproclaimed activists MiD DAYrsquos inquiries revealed that the college has been running these October admissions without intimating or taking permission from class XI centralised admission committee which had authorised class XI admissions till the end of July2013 When MiD DAY contacted SP College principal Dr Dilip Sheth he remained largely silent during the threeandahalfminute conversation regarding this lsquouniquersquo admission procedure However he conceded that the college has not obtained official permission of government authorities before initiating the admission process ldquoToday Monday we were checking the number of students present We will contact the deputy director of education Suman Shinde regarding thisrdquo Sheth said It has also come to light that the junior college teachers at the institution were opposing these additional admissions since the beginning ldquoWhat Irsquove heard is that the principal has personally gone to Mumbai twice and managed to get authorisation for these additional 10 per cent admissions from Mantralaya However no one knows about the exact number of enrolments and how the college will adjust these students when the first term is almost overrdquo a female teacher said on the condition of anonymity ldquoWe are still firm on our stand that the college administration should not exceed the admissions which will ultimately result in academic loss for studentsrdquo she added According to parents since the past two months the college management has been giving them assurances of admission but now it has become an emotional issue for them ldquoWe are doing continuous followups with the principal Finally he called all of us today to the societyrsquos office But after receiving a call from deputy directoratersquos office which objected to the admissions the process was stopped After we all protested the college has called us on Tuesday afternoon with the assurance that our children will get admittedrdquo said Prasad Kulkarni one of the parents On the other hand the office of the deputy directorate of education which oversees Class XI centralised admissions in the city is in the dark about the goingson at SP College ldquoAfter completion of centralised admissions like other institutions SP College too has provided us the final list of students it has admitted in class XI Also the college has not applied for the additional 10 per cent admissions which were held in Augustend I am astonished that the college is carrying out Std XI admissions now and that too without intimating our officerdquo a top official from deputy directorate education According to him the office would soon initiate action against SP College if it were proved that the establishment has granted admissions by going against rules Youth activist Suresh Jain who was present during the admission process yesterday said ldquoToday Monday the college principal has checked documents of around 75 students and all of them have been called tomorrow for Class XI admissionsrdquo Jain and other student union members who were pressing for SP College admissions referred to the intervention made by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar during the Class XI centralised admissions earlier However it should be noted that Pawar had clearly mentioned that the college should approach deputy directoratersquos office before granting further 10 per cent admissions which the college has not done Another point is the deputy CM had intervened in the admission process in August and SP is giving additional admissions after two months u00a0 Go figure Streamwise Class XI admissions done by SP College through centralised admission procedure in July 2013 gtgt Science 696 Commerce 465 Arts 237 Streamwise cutoffs for Class XI of SP College this year gtgtu00a0Science 90 per cent Commerce 7873 per cent Arts 8582 per cent u00a0