No sports trials for college admissions in Punjab for 3rd year in row

Punjab education department have not conducted trials for students seeking admission to undergraduate courses for three years, said educators.

The Punjab government launched an online portal for admissions into the colleges affiliated with three universities, including Panjab University, Chandigarh, Punjabi University, Patiala, and Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, to make the whole process of admissions easier and more efficient.

For the new academic session 2024-25, the last date for submission of online admission forms for the undergraduate courses at centralised portal is June 25 and the sports department of Punjab has still not conducted the trials for the students seeking admission in the higher educational institutions based on their performance in the sport.

A sports teacher at one of the aided colleges in Ludhiana, on the condition of anonymity, said, “The department has conducted no trials for more than two years and the government has lost all its interest in uplifting sports activities. Few teams that we have today, are surviving majorly because of the sportsmen who are working selflessly to keep the culture of sports alive in Punjab.”

Another teacher said the trials must be conducted way before the last date of form submission if the government intends to do so. “It was a great opportunity for the students who could not afford to continue their studies and sports simultaneously as the selected students were allowed to choose an institution of their own choice and were given residential facilities. Each of the three universities was given nearly 600-700 seats for the students selected based on these trials,” the teacher informed, adding that to eye Olympics, the government must rectify the loopholes at the ground level.

When questioned on the delay, assistant director sports Ranbir Singh Bhangu said, “The trials at the school level have already been conducted and for the college students, it is in the pipeline.”