Chandigarh: Panjab University’s admission process for several postgraduate and professional programmes continues well into Aug, potentially leaving newly enrolled students with limited time to settle into campus life before the student elections, expected in the first week of September.While the university’s academic calendar scheduled the commencement of teaching for fresh PG classes from July 13, counselling and admission-related activities are still under way in multiple departments. Though the calendar permits late admissions till Aug 31, departments conducting counselling have been allowed time till August 18, with provisional admission lists to be finalised later this month.The department of laws held LLB counselling on Aug 12 and 13, while the department of computer science and applications has scheduled counselling for MSc computer science (data science) on Aug 17. UIET is also conducting document verification for several ME and MTech programmes on Aug 17. BEd admissions, too, are continuing through Aug.The extended admission cycle has assumed significance because it overlaps with preparations for student elections. Traditionally, the weeks preceding the polls are used by student organisations to engage with freshers, discuss campus issues, present manifestos and highlight their work.With counselling still under way, many students may arrive on campus only days before campaigning gathers pace, leaving them little time to understand university issues, student groups and candidates.“Fresh students must have adequate time to familiarise themselves with the candidates, issues and competing manifestos before making an informed choice,” said AISA leader Ayush Shrivastava.NSUI leader Aakanksha Thakur said continuing admissions were also limiting student organisations’ outreach efforts. “This is the period when we should be interacting with freshers and presenting our work. Instead, much of the focus remains on admissions and counselling,” she said.SOPU’s Avtar Singh said delayed admissions compress the period available to understand campus politics and student organisations. “By the time many students settle into university life, the election season is already upon them,” he said.With admissions, counselling and document verification continuing through Aug, the gap between enrolment and polling is shrinking for a section of the electorate, raising questions about how much time freshers will get to engage with the democratic process before casting their votes.
