Kolhan University Orders Colleges to Upload Online Cluster System Guidelines Before Admissions

Chaibasa: Vice-Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) Anjila Gupta ordered all constituent colleges under Kolhan University to immediately upload clear guidelines, subject combinations, and admission rules for the new Cluster System onto their websites following an emergency academic council meeting on Tuesday.

Dr. Gupta also instructed college heads to establish functional admission helplines before enrollment begins and publish detailed cluster updates in local newspapers to minimize confusion for students and guardians. To prevent administrative gridlocks during the admissions cycle, the Vice-Chancellor explicitly advised reserved-category applicants to prepare their caste, residential, and income certificates well in advance.

The emergency meeting of the Academic Council and college principals met at the university headquarters to deliberate on the Jharkhand government’s proposed Cluster System and its sweeping academic restructuring plans.

Colleges Fight to Swap Regional Subjects

The implementation of the cluster blueprint prompted several colleges to demand immediate changes to their permitted subject combinations:

• Tata College (Chaibasa): Proposed replacing Mundari with Kurmali.
• Women’s College (Chaibasa): Requested introducing the Ho language in place of Sociology to promote regional languages.
• Jamshedpur Workers College: Demanded the inclusion of History, Political Science, Geography, Hindi, and English alongside a complete overhaul of faculty strength and seat redistribution.
• Ghatsila, Chandil, Baharagora, and Chakradharpur Colleges: Pushed to introduce Psychology, Santali, Mundari, and Kurmali over existing disciplines. Baharagora and JLN Chakradharpur also demanded that the administration separate the Odia language from Tribal and Regional Language (TRL) departments.
• KS College (Seraikela): Focused demands on adjusting Mathematics seat quotas, allocating Kurmali subjects, and restructuring faculty positions.

Conversely, a large block of institutions opted to retain their current subject combinations. This group included Jamshedpur Co-operative College, Graduate School College for Women (GSCW), LBSM College, GC Jain Commerce College, Co-operative Law College, and several regional degree colleges, including those in Jugsalai, Potka, and Chakulia.

University Defends Tribal Languages Against Cutoffs

During the floor debate, several principals strongly criticized a clause in the government proposal that eliminates local, tribal, and regional languages from colleges if student enrollment drops below 60. The educators argued that these subjects protect regional identity and cultural heritage, making enrollment cutoffs inappropriate.

The university leadership sided with the principals and promised to submit a formal recommendation to the Higher Education Department to protect these vulnerable regional subjects.

Additionally, Principal Dr. Veena Priyadarshi flagged persistent documentation barriers that routinely disrupt admissions for reserved-category applicants, prompting the Vice-Chancellor’s directive on early certificate preparation.