Ahmedabad: While the Gujarat govt has mandated the Gujarat Common Admission Services (GCAS) system for university admissions, the move has triggered a wave of backlash. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has officially warned of state-wide protests, slamming the centralized portal for chronic mismanagement and deep-seated inefficiencies.Although the govt expanded GCAS to include select private universities alongside state institutions, student leaders argue the rollout is half-baked. They claim the current setup funnels students toward expensive private colleges and is bogged down by a bloated timeline, sometimes stretching to 33 admission rounds. This delay has left over 50% of seats vacant and forced some students to start classes just a week before examinations. Furthermore, the ABVP is demanding that all private universities be brought under the GCAS umbrella to curb exorbitant application fees, which currently range from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500 for professional courses. Financial transparency has also become a flashpoint. Critics are questioning the mandatory Rs 300 registration fee, which replaces previously free govt applications. “Crores are being collected from students under the guise of registration,” student groups alleged, calling for the fee’s immediate abolition.
