A recent investigation in Nagpur has revealed an alleged engineering admission scam involving 320 students. These students, who claimed Hindi as their mother tongue, reportedly secured seats under the linguistic minority quota. The scam was exposed due to discrepancies in the signatures of school principals on the students’ leaving certificates. Sources from the state education department have confirmed these findings, raising concerns about the integrity of the admission process in the region.
The power to cancel admissions rests with the authority,” a senior official from Joint Director of Technical Education department said. The irregularity came to light when officials of the technical education department noticed that leaving certificates issued to students from the same school carried different signatures purportedly belonging to the same principal. The anomaly triggered a wider scrutiny of the documents and eventually exposed the alleged misuse of the Hindi linguistic minority quota. The affected students have since protested at the colleges and sought intervention from chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and the police. Student organisations like National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) have also taken up the issue. With the admissions already cancelled by the regulatory authority, however, their reinstatement remains uncertain. “Students losing an academic year is unfortunate. The Admission Regulatory Authority has published the list of these students and the reasons for cancellation of their admissions on its website. The role of the technical education department was limited.
Discrepancies in Linguistic Minority Quotas Prompt Admissions Review
Concerns have emerged regarding the verification process for documents submitted under linguistic minority quotas in educational admissions. The technical education department notified the admissions regulator after identifying discrepancies in the submitted documentation. In response, the authority held hearings involving students and their parents, ultimately leading to the cancellation of several admissions due to these irregularities.