Tirupati: Finally, Junior Inter admissions process coming to end

Tirupati: The High Court judgement ordering offline process for admissions in junior Intermediate courses this year paved the way for the classes to commence from January 18. The court disapproved the online admission process observing that no guidelines on the procedure were issued in advance.

The court clearly directed the Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) to go for offline admissions as per the old system for this year. Following this, BIE initiated the process on January 7 and set January 17 as the last date for admissions. From the next day, the class work will commence for junior Intermediate students.

The students and the parents were under severe ambiguity for all these days on the admissions which were stayed earlier by the High Court on the plea of some private colleges. The uncertainty continued till now. It may be recalled that all SSC candidates were declared passed due to Covid in 2020 and in Chittoor district alone around 54,000 students have become eligible to join junior Intermediate.

While senior Intermediate classes have been continuing, the fate of junior Inter students hanged in balance till the first week of January 2021. Ending the stalemate, the BIE finalised the admission schedule. The Regional Inspection Officer (RIO) in Tirupati V Srinivasulu Reddy told The Hans India that as per the Board directive students can submit the applications for admissions in various colleges till January 17.

Those who already paid the registration fee during online admissions need not pay it again now. The class work will be held on a regular basis from January 18. However, students should submit a declaration from their parents before attending the offline classes. The classes will be simultaneously held online though students have to attend the practicals following the Covid protocols.

The cap on the total number of seats at 40 was also struck down by the court and following the old procedure, each section will now have 88 students. The academic schedule for 2020-21 ends in May this time and the examinations may be held in April/May as per the tentative schedule. To a question, he said that, 30 per cent syllabus in all subjects was reduced as they lost several working days already.