City colleges manage to fill seats as majority opt for online admissions

By Ferdinand Rani

SHILLONG:

A week after the results of the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) were declared by the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBoSE), colleges around Shillong once again wore a deserted look with the completion of the admission process.

This year about 64,269 students appeared for the SSLC exams, of which only 34,003 students managed to pass recording an unenviable 52.91 per cent pass percentage. Speaking to The Northeast Today (TNT), educational heads of different institutions shared their enrollment strategies amid the Covid-19 crisis, saying that almost every college has adopted new strategies to ease the admission process.

"So far, our college has received a good response despite the pandemic. We are providing online admissions and for those, who have been unable to do that, we are asking them to come to the college, but adhering to the SOPs issued by the government," said Sanjay Rana, the Principal of BBS College Shillong.

The principal of Synod College in Shillong, Dr Richard M Lyngdoh, said that despite the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, the number of students applying for seats in the college is more compared to last year. For this academic year, the college has 120 seats in Arts, 100 in Science, and 50 in Commerce.

Shillong College has opted for both online and offline admissions. While the college solely depended on the online model last year, this year, admission was open in both online and offline platforms. "Offline admission was opted only by those students who had a problem logging into our website. But we have received a good number of applications online. We opted for a blended model because last year, we had observed that relying solely on online mode was a problem due to fluctuating internet connectivity," said I Kharkrang, the Vice Principal of Shillong College.

While some institutions saw a decrease in enrollment this year, others witnessed a significant increase.

"Since we had to shift suddenly to the online mode of admission last year, we had 105 candidates and four dropouts in the Arts stream. This year, we have reached around 70-80 and within a few days, we will cross the 100-mark. I think, in a scenario when one has to maintain social distancing, this number is sufficient to start classes," said the principal of BBS College.

He informed that in previous years, the college had 200 students in Arts alone and 150 in the Commerce stream. "But now, since the higher secondary course has started in many schools, the numbers have dropped," he added.

On the other hand, Synod College's principal said since 2020, the enrolment has increased "tremendously". "There is a limitation of space in the college and we cannot go beyond our seating capacity. However, since last year, we have seen a steep rise in the number of seats to 200 from 120 in the Arts stream," Dr Lyngdoh said.

Shillong College Higher Secondary Education, with a seating capacity of 700 for all streams, witnessed a drastic drop in the number of students, last year. "Last year, the enrollment rate was only 50 per cent but this year, we have reached our targets," said Kharkrang.

Meanwhile, some institutes also informed that, unlike the previous years, the number of applications received from the tribal population has increased. "Because of the pandemic, some parents are wary of sending their children outside to study. We have received applications from places like Nongstoin, Mawkyrwat, Jowai, Ri Bhoi district, etc," the principal of Synod College said.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui has urged the students not to avail admissions only at prominent institutions in the city since there are many government-aided colleges across the state. "If you want to study only in Shillong, it might be difficult as seats get filled very quickly. So, schools and colleges have been set up and aided all over the state. In today’s pandemic times, being closer to home is a safe bet," Rymbui said.

As far as the reopening of educational institutions is concerned, the education minister said that decision will be taken only after consultation with the Covid Committee. "Work is in progress. I'm a strong believer that classroom teaching is second to none and it should return at the earliest," he said. 

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