Students in a fix over online admissions order

BENGALURU: Thousands of college students who have already taken or are seeking admissions are in a quandary with the Karnataka higher education department on Monday issuing an order that undergraduate and postgraduate admissions in the state must be only online this year.
In many colleges, admissions are under way and entrance tests have been conducted and there is confusion how their processes will be integrated into the new mandate. Colleges catering to rural areas said students will be unsure of how to complete the process.
Some top colleges have completed a majority of their admissions. No one is clear on whether the students already admitted have to go through the process again – this time, online. Colleges, however, have the freedom to set their own admission criteria, including exams and interviews.
A top autonomous college in Bengaluru said they will wait for instructions specific to autonomous colleges. “We are an autonomous college and follow our own academic calendar. If we wait for the universities to issue their calendar, we will be late,” said a college official.