Professional college admissions require a professional approach, for which several important aspects have to be taken into account. Admissions procedures for professional colleges should be standardised and streamlined. No hit-and-trial staid methods are to be applied and subsequently changed in next year’s admissions. This can help to avoid delays and confusion in the admissions process. Clear and timely communication between regulatory bodies, colleges, and students is essential to avoid delays. All stakeholders must be kept informed of any changes in admission policies and procedures. Counselling sessions should be conducted efficiently and without unnecessary delays. This can help students make informed decisions about their choice of college and course. The use of technology, such as online applications and document verification, can speed up the admissions process and reduce the chances of errors. Professional colleges should have adequate staff to handle the admission process efficiently. This can help to avoid delays caused by a lack of resources.
But all these are idealistic conditions that are not at all visible in the admission procedure adopted by JKBOPEE, as over 100 nursing and paramedical colleges in Jammu and Kashmir may close due to low admissions in the past two academic sessions. These colleges blame the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examination (BOPEE) for the problem, saying their admission criteria are too lengthy and unnecessary. The colleges are asking for permission to conduct their own admissions after BOPEE completes its counselling, but the administration has not responded. The colleges offer diploma and degree courses, with over 20,000 seats in diploma courses and 4,000 in degree courses. Most are private and unaided, relying on admissions for funding. The delay in counselling and candidates’ inability to pass the entrance test have left many seats vacant. Admissions in nursing and paramedical courses have dropped to 15 percent of capacity. Some colleges have not had a single admission in the last academic session, including prominent ones like the Acharya Shri Chander Institute of Nursing Education and the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi College of Nursing. The colleges say lengthy procedures and delays in BOPEE’s counselling have deterred potential candidates. They have separately written to the Health and Medical Education Department seeking permission to fill the vacancies after BOPEE’s counselling. BOPEE says it is not responsible for policy decisions but is an implementing agency. Practically, the fate of these colleges and thousands of their employees remains uncertain.
Delays in admission to professional colleges can occur for various reasons, such as changes in admission policies, a lack of coordination between regulatory bodies and colleges, legal challenges, or administrative issues. Additionally, delays in admission counselling sessions or entrance exams may contribute to the problem. The net result is financial difficulties for the institutions and job losses for their employees.
It is important to mention that the majority of these colleges are privately owned and do not receive any financial assistance from the Government. They rely on admission fees to fund their courses. After the reorganisation of J&K into two Union Territories and the introduction of SRO 505 and 640, the responsibility of conducting admissions was transferred to BOPEE. Instead of streamlining the admissions process, things have become more complicated. Not only colleges, but students going to other states mean revenue loss to the Government as well as additional expenditure for parents for hostel or PG accommodation and travel expenses. Additional expenditure may dissuade youth from choosing these streams as careers.
The official explanation for the inordinate delay given by BOPEE is that the counselling process for several courses, including Nursing and Paramedical Colleges, MBBS and Engineering, faced delays due to a court case related to reservation issues. When the administration had given clear-cut instructions to get all departmental legal issues timely sorted out, why were things not sorted out timely? No such excuses can mitigate the sufferings of students and college authorities. Immediate intervention from the highest authorities is needed to streamline the admissions process.
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