Demand for seats unabated in deemed varsities

Speaking to Deccan Herald, the Pro Vice-Chancellor of Christ University, one of the varsities under the scanner, Father Abraham maintained that they are going ahead with their admissions as usual. “We have not got any orders from the courts or the government to stop our admissions. There is no question of us holding back admissions and we are going about it like we do every year,” he said.

Father Abraham also said that the controversy had no impact on the admissions at Christ University and if anything there was a “heavy rush” for the different courses that they had to offer. “There is heavy demand for our BA, BBM, BBA, BCom and MBA courses. Even our entrance examination for some of these courses have had a high number of applicants” he said. He went on to add that for each seat that the varsity had to offer in some of the courses, there were over 15 applicants.

Meanwhile, the situation is no different at the other big name institution from the city, Jain University, which too is part of the 44 varsities that the centre has notified. The Joint Registrar at Jain University M S Santhosh said that the case was not something where the government simply gets its way.

“It is not a matter where the government pleads something and gets what it wants. A thorough discussion has to take place before the Supreme Court on the matter,” he said. Santhosh added that the college had presented several facts before the apex court and it was up to the court to decide.

But he too expressed confidence that the proceedings at the Supreme Court will have no bearing whatsoever on the admissions at the varsity. “We will go ahead with our admissions and if the initial response is anything to go by, we believe that the people have the same confidence in our institutions as in previous years,” Santhosh said. However, he maintained that admissions at the varsity was still in its early phase this year and it was too early to say anything about the potential ramifications of the case.