The Deputy Director of Education has taken out a list of colleges with seats vacant after the first round of admissions that ended last week. According to the list, there are a total of 26, 115 seats (944 for arts, 6,133 in science and 14,038 in commerce) in Mumbai, with 16,000 in Thane and 870 in Raigad. Some of the reserved category seats such as ones for physically-handicapped, defence, sports etc in some colleges are also vacant because of non-availability of students.

One such worried parent, Gurudutt Nadkarni, said, “I have been running around with my son to various colleges in the suburbs for admission to commerce. I cannot send my son elsewhere to queue up in another college because all the colleges require to see the sole original copy of marksheet.”

A parent residing in Girgaon who had come to the deputy director’s office to check the names of colleges with vacant seats said, “South Mumbai colleges hardly have any seats left. Some junior colleges that have seats are unheard of. How can I put my daughter in any sub standard college? I may have to look for admissions in the suburbs.” Her daughter, who has scored 80 per cent in ICSE, complained that the SSC students had secured most of the seats because of the percentile system.

Meanwhile, anxious students who thronged the Bandra-based Chetana and Rizvi colleges to secure admissions were told by college authorities that there were no vacant seats despite the list indicating that 155 seats in commerce and 25 seats in arts were available at Chetana college and 90 seats in Commerce at Rizvi. Irate parents complained that the college authorities informed them of the non-availability of seats after they had been standing in queue for long hours.

The principals of both colleges have claimed that the list was inaccurate even though they had submitted all information about available seats in their colleges to the deputy director’s office on Friday. “Our record clearly showed that we did not have any seats left in any faculty after the first round of admission during which we declared five merit lists. The vacant seats list is wrong. We have 1,000 seats in all the faculties and all have been filled,” said Chetana college principal, Dr S Surnis. DR S Zaidi, Principal, Rizvi college concurred, “The deputy director has made a mistake. Now, we have to bear the brunt.”

The education department has set up guidance centres in Mumbai at Grant Road, Vile Parle and Ghatkopar, as well as in Thane and Raigad to disseminate information about vacant seats and admission status in various colleges. However, students say that the guidance centres were of no help. Nadkarni, who went to the guidance center at Parle Tilak Vidyala, said, “The same list that was put up at the deputy director’s office was put up at the guidance centre. That is all that was there at the centre.”

Confusion reigned at guidance centres. In one of the centres, Girton High School in Grant Road, parents demanded to meet education authorities because the centre was not providing admission forms.

The sale and submission of admission forms is open from July 21-23 between 10 am and 5:30 pm, while the merit list would come out on the July 24 at 1 p.m.