Girl gets online admission, but union wants Rs 4,000

KOLKATA: A girl who had gone to Seth Anandaram Jaipuria College for verification of her testimonials was asked to pay Rs 4,000 by the union despite securing admission in first year through the online admission process, demonstrating how even a foolproof online admission system is not enough to beat the well-oiled machinery of students’ unions.
The plight of the girl — from a town few hundred kilometres from Kolkata — also shows how the unions harass and coerce admission-seekers.The girl is so traumatised that she has gone back to her home.

The girl had been asked to come to the college at 10am on Saturday for the verification process. She reached the college with her uncle at 9.30am. “I was made to wait till 3.30pm by members of the union for the verification process, despite securing online admission. They asked me to pay Rs 4,000, which I did not agree to. I kept waiting for my turn, but it never came. On Monday, initially I was denied admission into the college. When I managed to get inside, college authorities said I would not be granted admission since I did not show up for verification,” said the girl, on condition of anonymity.
On Sunday evening, the cops had arrested Titan Saha, a former student and general secretary of the students’ union in Jaipuria College. “Some incriminating documents like mark sheets, copies of admission forms, admit cards and some forged documents were found from his residence. He heads a big racket and we are trying to arrest other people involved,” said an officer.
Jaipuria in Sovabazar is one of the very few colleges that has been able to migrate to the online process to a large extent. A candidate needs to visit the college only for verification of testimonials at a pre-assigned time slot by the college. The online process is expected to eliminate any meddling by the union in the admission process. But Monday’s incident has exposed even the chinks in the process.
Despite repeated tough talk by the state government, complaints have been pouring in from several colleges. At St Paul’s Mission Cathedral College on Amherst Street, the union allegedly demanded Rs 16,000 from a candidate because he missed the counselling. At Maulana Azad College, a student was promised admission in economics by the union for Rs 25,000.
“The union takes over the entire college during the admission season. Members of the union are everywhere, from the main gate to the venue of counselling where they even sit with the faculty member to identify a potential candidate from whom they can extort money,” said a former principal of a north Kolkata college.