ATKT students' admissions delayed further

The Bombay High Court on Thursday has put a stay on the admissions of the Allowed to Keep Terms (ATKT) students for junior college after blowing the 90:10 quota favouring state board students. The order has come as a set back for more than one lakh students who were initially declared eligible for admissions this year despite of failing in a subject or two in board exams. The next date of hearing is August 27. The stay was announced in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a right-wing students' organization Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). The student wing alleged that the government had initiated the scheme in haste, without even making the required provisions both constitutionally and in terms of infrastructure. Shailendra Dalvi, Mumbai Secretary of ABVP, said, "The city colleges do not have the seats or proper infrastructure to accommodate these many students. The decision by the court was taken abruptly and late. Students have already lost a month. While admissions for these one lakh students were to commence only after opening of colleges on August 10, they would have far less than the 230 working days required for completing their portions". The stay has dashed many students' hopes of not losing a year. In its litigation, ABVP points out that no amendments were made in the by-laws of the Maharashtra Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education to introduce such a scheme. It also states that such a law will violate Article 19 of the Constitution, which supports equality for all. However, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, Education Minister, said, "The court wants us to show we have adequate infrastructural facilities, which we can prove. There are certain directives which are given to the state board, to be fulfilled by the next date of hearing. Since it is the court's ruling, we do not have any say in delayed admissions."