Panjab University V-C directs CoE to try hold entrance tests in May or early June

Panjab University (PU) vice-chancellor Renu Vig has directed the PU controller of examinations (CoE) to explore the possibility of conducting entrance tests in May or in early June so that seats can be filled up on time. This is as per the minutes of a meeting held regarding admissions with the chairpersons of all departments with the V-C and dean of university instruction Rumina Sethi.

Admissions was one of the agendas for the meet and while the V-C asked that the process be strengthened, Brijesh Sharma of Panjab University Swami Sarvanand Giri Regional Centre in Hoshiarpur spoke about the unfilled seats for LLB course.

He said while seats of the honours course had been filled, 50% seats for the LLB course of last session are lying vacant. The reason for this was late admissions as compared to private universities and suggested that the entrance test for LLB should be scheduled earlier as the already approved schedule is too late. Following this, the V-C directed the CoE to hold entrance tests early. He was also advised to make arrangements for the early declaration of the final year results in order to have early admissions.

University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET) started its admission process just days after the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main results were declared by the National Testing Agency (NTA). Officials said the admissions were started as early as possible to ensure that they receive the most number of applications from the students. In just the first two days, over 500 applications were received.

Some of the chairpersons expressed concern over the PU website and said it was not regularly updated. Vig advised the director of the computer centre that links of all entrance tests conducted by PU should be uploaded on the homepage for the convenience of the public as is done by private universities.

To promote admissions, PU dean students welfare (DSW) women Simrit Kahlon suggested that open houses and career counselling sessions to provide information about courses run by PU can be done.

With the adoption of National Education Policy (NEP), it was noted that choice-based credit systems need to be adopted in the social sciences and language departments for the masters programmes too. Before proceeding for vacations, the V-C advised the chairpersons to plan whether they want to start a new course and how many guest faculties would be needed for it. She asked departments to submit their requirements for guest faculty much before the start of the semester so that the necessary approvals can be granted on time.