Scores of students of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU) at Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh, who hail from various south Indian states, have raised concerns that the institution has drastically scrapped the number of entrance exam centres in the south region. As per the latest admission notification released for the academic year 2020-21, of the 28 entrance exam centres across India, only one centre has been allotted in south India - in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
The current students are apprehensive that this will drastically reduce the chance for candidates from other south Indian states like Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to appear for the exam.
Speaking to TNM, Telangana native Gayatri*, a degree student in the university, said that the move has shattered the hopes of many. “I come from a tribal community in Telangana. Many of my cousins and friends had been waiting to write the entrance exam. But now, since there is not even one entrance exam centre in the state, many have backed out. People show reluctance to travel to other states for writing just an exam and then there are financial constraints, too,” she said.
IGNTU, opened in 2008, is the only central tribal university in the country, in addition to the Central Tribal University (CTU) in Andhra Pradesh, which was started a year ago.
According to the students, there were exam centres only in Madhya Pradesh initially and gradually allotted centres in other states. Since 2016, at least one exam centre was allotted in each state in the south, and in certain years, there used to be more than one centre in a state.
As per the admission notification, the entrance exam is scheduled to be held in June. Out of the total 28 exam centres, seven are in Madhya Pradesh, three in Chhattisgarh, two each in Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, while one each is in Manipur, Bihar, Assam, Gujrat, Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
Gayatri also said that the institution should keep at least one centre in each south Indian state as well as in the North-East states, which only has two centres in total - in Assam and Manipur.
From Kerala, about 170 students are at currently studying in the university.
“Until last year, Kerala’s exam centre was in Wayanad. Since the district has a majority of the tribal population, it was really helpful for the students from the tribal communities in the region,” Vishnu*, another student of IGNTU, told TNM.
“Earlier, there were talks on the campus that Kerala’s exam centre will be changed from Wayanad district to capital city Thiruvananthapuram. That was not a concern as it was anyway in the same state. However, they have now scrapped the only centre in Kerala altogether,” said Vishnu.
Though some students raised their concerns to the university administration, they were informed that there will be no change in the number of examination centres this year.
As per the notification, the online application started on April 23 and will be open till June 10.
(*Names changed)
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