Over 32,000 students await clarity on admissions to MBA courses

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MBA aspirants in the state are a worried lot, thanks to the delayed admissions process and the confusion around it. The month of August is nearly over but there is still no sign of a clear procedure of admissions, due to litigations around it.

The admissions were challenged in the Bombay High Court because the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) was not mentioned in the list of autonomous institutes. After the HC ordered it be included in autonomous institutes, students who had been admitted through the earlier process, approached the Supreme Court seeking intervention to secure their admissions. The MBA admissions issue continues to get more complex with each new development in the procedure. Over 32,000 students continue to wait for clarity while the court proceedings continue.

One of the candidates, Alpa Trivedi, said, "JBIMS is the most preferred institute for many, and due to confusion over its autonomy status now, the issue seems unresolvable. When the CET Cell began admissions process, all this should have been cleared to avoid the confusion. Now the entire admissions process is on hold."

When the admissions process began in the month of July, JBIMS was shown as a non-autonomous institute in the list. Around 39 candidates were allotted seats at JBIMS. Then nine students approached the HC seeking intervention in the case of autonomy status of the JBIMS, stating that there was no specific revocation of it (status), and so it cannot be assumed to be non-autonomous this year without appropriate procedure or declaration. Following this, HC ordered fresh admissions at JBIMS with its autonomous status. Soon after that, the students who were allotted seats there moved SC, stating that they will lose their admissions due to the chaotic process. "Now the SC is to hear the matter on August 28, which might provide some clarity over the admission process. It is unfortunate that such an important detail - status of autonomy of an institute - was not cleared before the admission process," said another student, Pranay Kanetkar.

In the case of autonomy, the seat allocation at JBIMS will be 85 per cent for Maharashtra candidates and 15 per cent for students from All India Quota. If it is under non-autonomous institutes, the seat allocation will be 70 per cent seats for Mumbai University students and 15 per cent seats each for Maharashtra and all India Quota candidates. Anand Rayte, commissioner of the CET Cell, was not available for comment.

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