* * * Jharkhand <http://jharkhand.org.in/blog> Blog <http://jharkhand.org.in/blog> *
** * * <http://www.jharkhand.org.in/forum> ** ** ** <http://jharkhand.org.in/blog> <http://worldsikhnews.com/25%20June%202008/Government%20of%20India%20Guilty%20as%20charged.htm> ** <http://www.jharkhand.org.in/contact.htm> <http://www.jharkhand.org.in/members> Quota seats go empty at Indian School of Mines University (ISMU), Dhanbad At least 149 seats, reserved for SC and ST students, would go empty at the Indian School of Mines University (ISMU), Dhanbad, this year. Admission to this coveted mining engineering college was through IIT-JEE, but ISMU authorities believe that out of a total of 612 seats, this year would record 149 vacancies, most of them in seats reserved for students belonging to Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Scheduled Caste (SC) categories. At IITs, too, initial calculations suggest about 432 seats would remain vacant. This trend, both at ISM and the IITs, is a direct fallout of six new IITs that have been commissioned by the Centre leading to an increase in the number of quota seats. "Out of 159 seats reserved for SC/ST students, only 10 SC category students got admission to the BTech course," said T Kumar, ISMU director. "No one from the ST category has got admission." If it's any consolation, 99 students had been chosen from both categories to be admitted to ISMU's preparatory course which would equip them to join the main course next year. These students, 34 more than last year, would be trained in basic physics, chemistry, mathematics, English and Hindi. These students, who qualified through the IIT JEE, aren't as proficient as their counterparts in the general or OBC categories. "Hence they are trained for a year before they are inculcated into the full-time programme," Kumar explained. "Only after completing the training some of them would they be inducted into the first year BTech course for the academic session 2008-2009," he added. Tribal organisations are alarmed at this trend. Some even allege foul play. "It is hard to believe that there is a dearth of talent among tribal students. The vacancies of reserved seats in the IITs were probably created because something went wrong somewhere," said Nishit Ekka, secretary of the Tribal Medical Association. Ekka pointed out that in 2005, only one boy had qualified to study medicine in Jharkhand as against 12 in 2006. "However, after we intervened and told the state to rectify the process of selection, the number of tribal students who qualified for medical colleges increased up to 38 in 2007. Also, 87 others qualified for medical colleges out of the state," he noted. Special secretary in the welfare department B.C. Nigam attributed the issue to lack of coaching facilities for tribal students aspiring to get into IITs. "Though there is no dearth of talent among tribals, they fail to make the mark due to inadequate opportunities," he said. He said Jharkhand needed to focus on imparting high quality coaching for IIT aspirants so that they could qualify in the entrance examinations. The welfare department, he added, ran various schemes through which it financed coaching for tribal students aiming to become doctors, engineers or civil servants. But as of now, these are yet to show results. http://jharkhand-college.blogspot.com/2008/08/quota-seats-go-empty-at-indian-school.html *988* - - Jharkhand Forum <http://www.jharkhand.org.in/forum> - Directory - Jharkhand Directory <http://www.jharkhand.org.in/directory> - Jharkhand - Jharkhand (USA) <http://www.jharkhand.us/> - Jharkhand Forum <http://www.jharkhand.org.in/forum> - Jharkhand Live <http://www.jharkhand.org.in/live> - Jharkhand.org.in <http://www.jharkhand.org.in/> - Jharkhand.org.uk <http://www.jharkhand.org.uk/> -- Jharkhand News [EMAIL PROTECTED] Jharkhand Online Network www.jharkhand.org.in/news
