The ambitious plan of the University of Mumbai to conduct online admissions for the Institute of Distance and Open Learning (IDOL) could well be going down the drain, as only 3,000 first year students have applied for admission so far. Last year there were 40,000 admissions. The last date for admission is August 16, and management council members allege that the University has done little to ensure that students without access to the Internet can apply offline.
City students are facing problems due to this, as many of them don’t have access to the Internet and are hence unable to apply. “When the admissions were conducted manually, I could take a days’ leave from work and complete the formalities. But now, I have to first apply online and then go and submit my documents on the date mentioned by IDOL,” said Shadab Ahmed, a Govandi resident.
Criticising the haphazard way in which the University is implementing the online admission process, management council member and former adviser to IDOL Dilip Karande said that the University had failed in its duty towards the students from the working class.
“The University should have arranged for centres where students who do not have computer and Internet facilities can apply. It is unfortunate that lack of planning is causing problems to the students,” Mr Karande said.
Dr D. Harichandan, director, IDOL, admitted that the online admission is going slow and that only 3,000 students had taken admission so far. However, he was noncommittal about the steps they would take to ensure that students don’t suffer. “We may extend the dates for submitting the documents in Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and Ratnagiri districts,” he said.