KOCHI: Not only studies, even admission trends are witnessing a change in these Covid times. Until last year, the months of May, June and July saw a large number of youngsters making a beeline for colleges and universities in other states for admission to various courses. This year, this has reversed with almost every educational institution in the state reporting a surge in the number of applicants. Moreover, the applicants are increasingly preferring institutions in their own districts, perhaps to avoid the hassle of travelling amid the pandemic.
“Not only science and arts colleges but also management schools are seeing an increase in the number of applicants,” said Binoy Joseph, principal, Rajagiri College of Social Sciences at Kalamassery here. Another new trend was that more boys were applying for various courses, Binoy said.
“Unlike certain subjects that are dominated by girls, PG courses like MBA, MSW and Master of Human Resource Management (MHRM) are seeing a lot of applications by boys. This is true even for BSW. This is perhaps boys, who normally prefer to study in universities in other states, are unable to do so owing to the pandemic. Also, parents don’t want their children to take any risk,” he said.
The college received a total 1,400 applications each for its 120 MBA and 40 MHRM seats and 700 applications for its 50 MSW seats. The number of applications is extremely higher than last year, said Binoy.
SCMS Kochi principal G Sashi Kumar too said the same. “Also, until last year, most students, especially boys, preferred admissions in institutions in Bengaluru, Mangaluru or northern states,” he said. The college will receive applications for admission till September 15.
In some colleges, seats earmarked for NRIs got filled first. “Both management and NRI seats for nearly every course in our college were filled within days of the admission notification. There was also a 30 to 40 per cent increase in the number of applications received for various courses,” said Sanju P Cherian, assistant professor, Saintgits College of Applied Sciences, Kottayam. He said there was also an increase in the number of students who scored high marks seeking admission in local colleges.
With seats in various courses increased by around 10 percent this year and the government approving new courses, students have more options in their home state, he said.
Gokul G Nair, admission executive, Asian School of Business (ASB), Thiruvananthapuram, said the applications for BBA doubled from 110 last year to 220 for 70 seats this year. “The admission process and interview were conducted online,” he said.
He said unlike earlier, when ASB received applications from students in Ernakulam and even faraway districts like Kozhikode, a majority of applicants this year were from Thiruvananthapuram itself. “This may be due to the transportation problems students faced during the lockdown. Now, it is better to be in the home district than getting stranded somewhere else, it seems,” he said.
Changing trend due to pandemic
The applicants are increasingly preferring institutions in their own districts this year, perhaps to avoid the hassle of travelling amid the pandemic.