Jamshedpur Co-operative College on Wednesday finally started enrolling students for its BEd course after two failed attempts. Kolhan University, to which the college is affiliated, has cleared 82 names for the process.
The college had earlier faced protests from members of various students' organisations, who alleged anomalies in the selection process. Sources said more than 1,700 students had applied for the BEd course offered by the college in September. A five-member selection committee scrutinised the applications and came out with a list of 100 students based on merit points (educational qualification and marks) on September 15.
However, a number of applicants, backed by members of different students' unions, claimed that the selection process had not been transparent and candidates with less merit points were "favoured".
The college then instructed the committee to re-scrutinise the list and publish a fresh one, which it did on October 12. However, the student leaders again rejected the new list and created a ruckus, stalling the admission process.
Now, the varsity has asked the college to enrol 82 students, whose names were out in the second list, but put on hold the admission of 18 candidates for further verifications.
BEd classes will start from November 9, after a delay of around two months. "Wednesday was the first day of admission, which passed off peacefully. We are going through the credentials of candidates whose admission is on hold," said R.K. Das, principal of Jamshedpur Co-operative College.
He added that with the current scenario, it would be added burden on the students who would now have to complete their syllabus in a shorter time.
"We are in touch with varsity officials and have informed them about our grievances," Das said
A team of Kolhan University officials had also on November 1 visited the co-operative college campus and promised to ensure transparency in the selection process.
"There are allegations of gross anomalies in the selection process. Students have claimed that the committee had favoured those with lesser merit. Thus, we wanted to re-check the credentials of certain candidates," said Manoj Choubey, a student's right activist.
