Pune
Edition, 15th July 2008
Mumbai: The state government has shown
that it’s no better than an unprepared SSC candidate
who develops cold feet inside the examination centre but
promises that he will emerge with flying colours the next
year.
After the big debate over the controversial 70:30 reservation
policy in junior college admissions, the state suddenly
withdrew the policy moments before it could be heard by
the chief justice of the Bombay high court on Monday.
Following the assurance from advocate general Ravi Kadam,
a division bench of chief justice Swatanter Kumar and justice
A.P. Deshpande lifted the stay on admissions and allowed
colleges to resume the process of admitting students to
the first year junior college courses. The court’s
order came as a relief to over 12.5 lakh students in the
state who passed their SSC exams earlier this year.
However, the government told the high court that it would
push for implementing the scheme, which envisages 70% reservation
for local students, from the next academic year —
that is for 2009-10.
Sanjay Kumar, state secretary for school education and sports,
told TOI that colleges could have resumed admissions from
Monday itself after the HC order. He added that the government
would send out circulars to colleges on Monday evening giving
them the green signal for FYJC admissions. However, several
principals said they had not yet received any circular until
Monday evening.
Kumar also said that those colleges that had implemented
the 70:30 quota would have the freedom to decide whether
they wished to go ahead with admissions for the fourth and
fifth merit lists or to re-do admissions for the second
and third lists.
