Hard-selling pvt varsities nibble right at GU gates

AHMEDABAD: The craze for that coveted MBA or MCA degree has spawned a huge cash and carry business. One that the plethora of private universities mushrooming across the country are milking merrily.
And now in their quest for business, private universities are adopting an aggressive stance — they are soliciting students right at the doorstep of Gujarat University.Perhaps for the first time in the history of GU, as staffers point out.
Boldly camped outside Gujarat''s apex university, these private players are wooing aspiring managers, IT professionals and engineers with made-to-order MBA, MCA and BTech degrees from private universities sitting right here in Ahmedabad.
And providing them with an ideal hunting ground are the hordes of anxious students queuing up for admissions to MBA and MCA courses, centralised this year under the Gujarat Common Entrance Test (GCET). The GU committee is into its fifth day of admissions for 1,750 MBA and 2,000 MCA seats.
So one has a Sikkim Manipal University offering MBA, MCA and MSc degrees in IT and an Indian Institute of Telecom Management (IITM), which claims to be affiliated with the JRN Rajasthan Vidyapith (a deemed university), offering MBA, MCA, BSC, Btech and diplomas in Telecom management.
Not to be left behind, Academy of Computer Technology (ACT) and the Kottayam-based Mahatma Gandhi University, too are trying to lure students who have failed to make the grade at GCET.
Explains Darshini Contractor, technical director (Ahmedabad), Sikkim Manipal University and ACT, "We are targeting students who have not been able to get admissions to GU courses in Ahmedabad and would not like to go out of the city to grab that MBA or MCA degree for various reasons. We offer them a degree from UGC-recognised university sitting right here in Ahmedabad."
Agrees Mekhala Mehta of IITM, who has been camping outside GU''s main gate since Monday, when admissions started, and intends to stay put till Saturday, when admissions close. "Since there are limited seats available under GCET, we are just providing an option to students MBA, MCA and B.Tech aspirants," Mehta argues.
And this strategy seems to be paying off as students rejected by the GCET process are making a beeline for such offerings. Mehta is happy to have netted over 40 students for IITM''s MBA offering. "Our MBA batch is almost full. We also have around 80 queries for other courses," she adds.
Gujarat University officials, meanwhile, claim that they were unaware about the private universities'' representatives eating into their share.
"Some representatives did approach the admission committee, seeking permission to do admission counselling within the committee premises but were refused permission. If they are still out there enrolling students we will report the matter to the Gujarat University (GU)," says coordinator of MBA and MCA admission committee Sarla Achyutan.
GU registrar MS Shah says: "We will soon act on getting the tents removed. These private universities'' representatives might even misguide students about the degrees they offer. Students with less marks and are desperate to get a degree, are an easy prey," Shah says.