After NSUI protest, Gujarat relaxes GCAS admission rules for colleges

Following protests by members of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) over the admission process through the GCAS (Gujarat Common Admission System) portal, the Gujarat government has decided to ease certain regulations. 

Institutions under Gujarat University, as well as institutions in Saurashtra and South Gujarat, will now be allowed to offer admission for vacant seats outside the GCAS portal under specific conditions.

This year, the state mandated that all admissions be processed exclusively through the GCAS portal. However, numerous students reported technical issues during the application process. Several candidates who cleared the entrance exams were not granted confirmed admissions, which led to protests by NSUI members at the KCG (Knowledge Consortium Of Gujarat) campus.

Responding to these concerns, the state government has decided to relieve the previously fixed seat matrix in the GCAS portal. 

Colleges will now be able to offer additional admission letters beyond the officially sanctioned seat by GCAS portal, at their own responsibility. However, the total number of confirmed admissions must not exceed the number of seats approved by the government.

Colleges are permitted to convert unfilled category-wise seats into other categories if eligible students are not available. Still, they are not allowed to increase the number of open category seats or violate merit-based admission rules.

Authorities have warned that if more students are admitted than the sanctioned capacity, especially if lower-merit students are admitted over higher-merit ones, the respective colleges will be held accountable. 

Importantly, Gujarat University has clarified that it will not be responsible for any disputes or complaints arising due to these relaxed norms.