Scamsters continue to engineer' admissions

NEET results remain up in the air, while counselling is well underway for engineering colleges across the country, with admissions for the latter determined by a number of tests like CET, COMEDK and JEE. Parents and students who are at the mercy of agents and admission scamsters are an unhappy, anxious lot. The hunt for a reputed institute could end up being a very expensive mistake with far-reaching consequences, while crooked agents take advantage of the confusion and make a quick buck, report Shrinivasa M. and Ralph Alex Arakal

The scramble for  admissions to  professional courses has begun now that the results of various  state and national entrance tests are out. Making the most of jittery students and nervous parents,  are the “agents” who step in with promises of seats in the top institutes of the state. Like leeches, they latch on to their prey in every professional stream, whether engineering, medicine or architecture and make a quick buck in the process.  A quick recce of the current admission scene in professional colleges reveals parents are once again being fleeced by these middlemen as they search for the best option for their children.     

Engineering
While others slog it out, appearing  for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main, Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET) or the Under Graduate Entrance Test (UGET) held by the Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental colleges of Karnataka (COMED-K) for an engineering seat, one student, Kaushik (name changed), admits he has gained admission to a premier engineering institute in the city without appearing for any of these tests.

With “agents” stepping in to ease their way, and huge sums exchanging hands, students like Kaushik have a smooth ride to the best of colleges while others, with lesser means,  burn the midnight oil to prepare for the entrance exams.  “My financial status does not permit me to get a seat in a college even before the rank lists are annnounced. The fact that my parents are even now trying for a loan for my education disturbs me,” says Naveen,  who passed his board exams with distinction.

While he clearly is no easy game for the agents, they don't give up being  persuasive.   Ms Jean, a parent from Basavangudi  says her family began to  get calls right from the week after they filled a form for a seat in a top engineering college. “ Agents have been bringing pressure on us saying seats are fast  filling up and advising us not to risk waiting for the official allotment,” she reveals. The agents reportedly demand upto Rs 10 lakh for a seat, which they claim will go to the college concerned,  while conveniently forgetting to inform parents that the Karnataka Unaided Private Engineering Colleges Association has  cut down on the annual fee owing to scarcity of students in engineering colleges.

Medical
The delay in announcement of the results of the  National Eligibilty and Entrance Test (NEET) that many students aspiring for a medical/dental seat in the state and elsewhere in the country have appeared for, has given middlemen the opportunity they need to prey upon their fears.   As students  grow increasingly frustrated waiting for the results that have not been announced even a month after the test was held, they are moving in with promises of their own.

Says one student,  Kalyani G,  “I am confused and disturbed because of this delay. As my friends who have opted for engineering are already gaining admission to various colleges, my relatives are advising me to rethink my choice of study.”  For middlemen complaints like these are music to their ears.  

One parent, Suman, from Banaswadi says  the delay in the announcement of  results is used to the fullest by them to further their business.

“ They demand Rs 20 lakh to Rs 30 lakh for a seat without a second thought. This is a total mockery of NEET and the authorities who hold it,” he protests.

Architecture
Shortcuts are not uncommon here too. While other students sweat it out to appear for the National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA), as they are  required to score  a minimum of 80  out of 200 to qualify for a general category seat, a good many are lured by agents or  “supporters” as they call themselves,  into paying huge sums to gain entry into colleges of their choice.

Says a parent from Horamavu. “I first  received an SMS offering seats in top institutes of the city. Then I started getting calls negotiating the fee, and demanding Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh for various choices. At one point, the agent even said a full payment now would bring down the annual fee of Rs 5.75 lakh to Rs 2 lakh.”  The agents did not care to even ask whether her child had appeared for the qualifying examination, she adds.

Reforms in engineering education are the need of the hour. The Union government must ask all  private colleges to admit students based only on the JEE (mains) or JEE (advanced) score card. It’s hard to understand why students contact agents when every state has many vacant engineering seats owing to the large number of colleges.— Shantha Krishna, a student hoping to join an engineering course

Parents should realise they are not supposed to run their children’s lives based on their own interests. It is high time they left it to them to choose their own careers.”— TV Mohandas Pai, educational expert

In the age of the Internet when all information is available online, parents should verify whatever they are told  by the authorities/ agents  before  proceeding with their children’s admissions. Being patient and listening to their wards is equally important.— Diana Rebeiro, a parent

MHRD wants national entrance exam for engg, too
One immediate impact of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for medical/ dental undergraduate and postgraduate courses has been the eradication of the role of middlemen in  admission tests. Prior to (NEET) for medical/ dental undergraduate and postgraduate courses is aimed at the eradication of middlemen in  admission tests. Prior to  NEET, students were forced to write multiple admission tests ,which often to led to rampant corruption , such as allotment of fake ranking for a few candidates. Once NEET was introduced the process was streamlined with a single admission platform per state and online allotment of seats, which did away with such manipulation.

Now that the NEET experiment has been successful, the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) is seriously contemplating  introducing a similar examination  for admission to engineering and architecture courses. The MHRD, which reportedly wants a single admission test for all technical institutes, including IITs, IIITs, and Union government- run engineering colleges from 2018-19, has asked the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to come out with an action plan.

"All the states have already upgraded their  plus two syllabus to NCERT standards. Seeing how successful NEET has been,  we now want such a system  for engineering courses too.  Once the one course-one examination concept is introduced and the examination score card is made mandatory, all the problems with the present admission system will be resolved,” says an MHRD officer.

While the fee structure could go up slightly under the new system,  he believes it will end the agent-management nexus. “As the examination is conducted by a central agency, there will  be no room for malpractice,"  he adds.

Admit students on merit, not thickness of parents’ wallets: Professor Balaveera Reddy, Former VC, Visvesvaraya Technological University
When there are plenty of seats available in colleges across the state and the country, parents should not get misled by  agents. If they do a thorough search online they will be able to identify the best institution for their children while keeping their budget in mind.

Parents and students need to be aware that the university they are affiliated to is what matters and not the colleges themselves. Getting a seat in the so called “premier institutes” should never be a criteria. I have seen rankholders graduating from not-so-famous institutes. The goal should be hard work, persistence and determination to perform as the degree certificate and the skills we have decide how our future will be written. Parents therefore need to think beyond famous institutes to find one that suits their child.

College managements should also admit students based on their merit and not the thickness of their parents’ wallets. Communication skills, leadership qualities, and the number of programmes a student has attended beyond textbook study should also be considered. This will help them get better results too.

When agents demand a huge sum, parents should discourage them instead of falling prey to their tactics. If they have kept aside a huge sum for their children’s education, they should save it for their  higher studies, or  send them abroad for postgraduation.