Second Bifocal List Brings Little Hope

The second (bifocal) merit list on Monday 18th July 2011, evening brought little relief to those seeking admission to junior college.

A large number of students, many of them 90-plus scorers, have not yet got a seat as colleges witnessed only a marginal dip in cut-off in the second round.
Though principals of most institutes had predicted high marks that would be required for admission, what has come as a shock is that in two colleges, the cut-off for the second list is higher than that for the first list. I have no idea how the percentage has become more than the first list these were the percentages that we were expecting for our first list, said Harsha Mehta, principal of SIES College, Sion. The cut-off for computer science at SIES has risen by 2% from 92.36% to 94.36%, while the cut-off for electronics has increased by 1%.
At Patkar College, the cutoff for computer science in the unaided section has increased by more than 2%. Explaining how this was possible, an official from the deputy director of education’s office said, Forty per cent seats are reserved for students who studied technical subjects in Std VIII, IX and X in the bifocal courses. If these reserved seats do not fill up after the first round, they are supposed to be offered to the general category. And so, cut-offs in some colleges might have increased. The system is not faulty. In the second round, the percentage listed as the required score by most institutes witnessed a slight dip and many colleges did not even have any vacant seat. For example, at Ramnarain Ruia College, Matunga, none of the seats for electronics (aided section) in science is vacant. The cut-off for computer science in our college has not changed at all, while that for electronics in the unaided section has dipped by 0.18%, said Principal Suhas Pednekar.
Similar is the scene at Jai Hind College. Our cut-off for electronics didn’t change at all as we had only four seats left and all the four were allotted to students who had scored 94.18%.Thecompetition in the general category may get worse, said Kirti Narain, principal of Jai Hind College.
Officials blamed this trend on extra-cautious students; with the anxiety level hitting a new high this year due to high scores and cut-offs, students have already secured their seats in whatever college they got. This was the main reason why most colleges had very few seats left when the second (bifocal) merit list was published, said an official.
I thought my score was really good and would get me a seat in any college of my choice. Now I will have to wait for a seat on the general list. Hopefully I’ll get it, said Hardik Harsoria,a student of St Sebastian High School at Chira Bazar, who had scored 92 %.
SCORE BOARD
The first general merit list will be announced at 5 pm on July 22

Cut-offs for 2nd bifocal list:

Courtesy: Times of India