Even as students are scrambling for seats in some of the coveted colleges, principals of less preferred junior colleges have complained that coaching class owners are also responsible for taking away students from them. However, coaching class owners said they recommend colleges to students only to ensure that they go to the colleges that offer proper education.
Speaking about the manner in which students choose colleges for FYJC, Dinesh Punjwani, principal RD National College said, “Youngsters today don’t choose colleges based on the choice of their peer group or their future plans, rather they opt for colleges that are suggested to them by coaching class owners. These days, before taking admission to colleges, students take admission to coaching classes and based on their recommendations, they choose colleges,” Mr Punjwani said.
Dr Krishna Patil, principal of Siddharth College concurred and said, “Coaching class owners paint a bad picture about colleges that are strict about attendance and maintain high standards of academics. Class owners tend to guide students towards colleges that do not have good academic standards, to make the students totally dependent on them,” said Dr Patil.
Refuting the allegations made by college principals, Prof N. Bhambwani, vice-president of the Maharashtra Class Owners Association said, “Our opinions are based on the feedback from former students of the colleges. If principals feel that we are taking students away from the colleges, they should improve the quality of education. Since preparation for the Common Entrance Test (CET) has become the prime focus for Science students, they prefer tutorials to colleges.”