GCAS debacle: 56% UG seats filled, 44% vacant after 16 rounds

Time of India

19-07-2025

Ahmedabad/Surat/Vadodara: Gujarat's first fully centralised admission system, the Gujarat Common Admission Services (GCAS), was supposed to make college admissions simpler and smoother.
But after 16 rounds — the highest in the state's history — nearly half of Gujarat's 4.71 lakh undergraduate (UG) seats remain vacant. From missing confirmations to entire admissions being wiped out with a single click, students are facing roadblocks at every turn, and college principals are left grappling for clarity even as a staggering 2.04 lakh seats remain unclaimed.
By Friday evening, state colleges filled up only 56% of the UG seats.
Earlier, after six to seven rounds, the admission process was handed over to colleges. But this year, despite persistent glitches, that handover has not happened, and students are paying the price.
Admissions are reportedly up by 8% compared to last year. Yet officials admit that about 12,000 fewer students applied for general stream UG courses this year. The issues are primarily related to the poor design of the online portal and glitches related to multiple choices of courses and portal-university coordination, experts pointed out.
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Dhruvi Parmar, a student from Ahmedabad is eligible for free education under the state govt policy as a female SC/ST/OBC applicant. "Instead, the portal asked me to pay Rs 32,000 for a BA (English) seat. We have flagged the issue," she said.
Heer Solanki, who had cleared Class 12 in the science stream, applied for a BSc seat. She was allotted MG College of Science, but there was no clarity from the college's side, claim family members.
"Due to the online admission system, we did not know which college our daughter got admission to. With no college-level merit list, we were not sure and thus we could not pay fees. Despite securing first class in class 12, my daughter is still waiting to get admission," said her father, Bharat Solanki.
From the colleges' perspective, the issue is of coordination. Payal Iyer, vice-president of the Gujarat State Principals Association, said that her college received 600 offer letters, but only four admissions.
"Several colleges are experiencing a high number of vacant seats. One of the reasons could be multiple applications and no follow-ups," she said. "About 50% of the seats in grant-in-aid colleges are vacant.
"
One of the major issues is that the portal allows students to cancel admissions via an app, and colleges are unable to track confirmed enrolments, say experts. Earlier, cancellations had to be done in person. The principals' association has already raised their concerns with state authorities.
Thousands Allocated, But No Confirmation
Dilip Rana, commissioner (higher education), confirmed that GCAS completed 16 rounds with 2.66 lakh students confirming admissions. "About 40,000 to 50,000 students received admissions in their preferred colleges but have not confirmed," he said. He refused to comment on the timeline in which the colleges will be allowed to fill vacant seats.
Mukesh Kumar, principal secretary (education), said that compared to last year, more students secured admissions through the portal and the system benefited many students.
"After centralised rounds, the universities should be allocated seats and students must be allowed to apply directly to colleges through the portal. It will benefit both. About 7,000 students selected our college, but few confirmed admissions," said Sanjay Vakil, principal of HA College of Commerce and President of the All-India Principals' Association.
Course Cancellation Equals Admission Wipeout
In Surat, Dhruvi Sharma got into the BCA course at Udhna Citizen College in the second admission round and even attended classes for 10 days.
But when her family tried to edit choice preferences, the portal cancelled her entire admission without warning. "There was no intimation from GCAS or the college. Where does my daughter go now?" asked Jayshree, her mother.
Ramesh Gadhvi, registrar of Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (VNSGU), said that they have not faced any issues with the system and are addressing any other issues raised by the students. While there have been no major hiccups in admissions at the Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) of Baroda so far, it is the uncertainty of bagging a seat in their preferred subject that is keeping students on tenterhooks.
Choice-Filling a Major Concern
The situation is particularly acute in faculties like science and arts where students apply for subject-specific courses. A case in point is MSU's faculty of arts where around 260 students applied for admission to BA (English) as their first choice in the first round, but only around 40 paid fees. The remaining seats went into the next round.
"With the cutoff at 80%, many students secured seats elsewhere assuming that they would not get admission here even though they had scored 70% or more.
Now, they will have to get that admission cancelled to get into MSU. Meanwhile, because s/he did not apply in the fear that they may not get admission, it is likely that people with lower percentage than them will get into the varsity just because they applied," said an official.
Student leader Suzan Ladman pointed out that earlier, if someone saw that he would not get admission in a major subject of his choice, he could easily switch to another subject in the science or arts faculties.
"Now, the portal doesn't allow that flexibility. Many students have been forced to take admissions to other universities due to this limitation," he said.
MSU registrar K M Chudasama said that in the first two rounds, the university finalised nearly 75 per cent of its admissions. The remaining rounds were needed only for the remaining seats. He added that the cancellation of admissions was possible on portals and not a major hassle.
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BOX1
Process differs from engg admissions
While the state education department runs both GCAS and the system for the admission committee for professional courses (ACPC), there are many variations, experts point out. "While engineering admissions allow students the flexibility to secure a seat, pay fees, and still continue participating in subsequent rounds for better opportunities, the GCAS portal follows a restrictive approach.
Once students confirm their admission through GCAS, they are automatically removed from the system, eliminating any possibility of upgrading to a preferred institution in subsequent rounds," said an official.
The situation poses a challenge for those coming from a rural background who shell out up to Rs 300 for filling up forms.
BOX2
Additional round from July 24
GCAS officials said that the initial special phase of UG admissions ended on July 15, with the subsequent special phase scheduled to commence on July 24, catering to students who missed previous rounds or recently passed supplementary exams.
Education department officials said that the highest number of confirmed admissions was recorded in Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, followed by Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University and Gujarat University.
"GCAS provides support through two dedicated helpline numbers and, additionally, 2,300 complimentary assistance centres have been established throughout Gujarat to provide support with application completion, document verification, and guidance," mentioned the GCAS website.