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TOI : PUNE: The Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena (BVS) on Friday demanded stringent action by the University of Pune (UoP) against the Symbiosis arts and commerce college after a two-member inquiry panel of the university said the college had flouted the state government’s 10 per cent admission quota for outside Maharashtra students (OMS).

The panel has detected 214 excess OMS admissions effected between 2002-03 and 2007-08 by the college to the first-year commerce degree course. Based on the panel’s report, the UoP management council passed a resolution on June 6 slapping a monetary fine on the college at the rate of double the course fee for each excess admission.

The Symbiosis college, however, categorically denied having effected any excess admission. “We haven’t yet received any letter from the UoP regarding the management council’s decision. Hence, we don’t know what has happened,” said principal Hrishikesh Soman told TOI on Friday.

Soman added: “The entire issue was based on misunderstanding and misguided interpretation of admissions effected by the college during the six-year period in reference. We haven’t effected even a single excess admission than what has been sanctioned to us.”

At a press conference here on Friday, BVS state chief Abhijit Panse and city unit chief Sunil Jagtap said that the UoP action of monetary penalty was too lenient considering the repeated offence’ in terms of excess admissions effected by the college over a period of six years. “The university needs to take more stringent action against the college,” Jagtap said.

Earlier, BVS activist Angad Bhosale had filed a plea under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the UoP seeking details of excess admissions at various affiliated colleges. Responding to the plea, the UoP released the inquiry panel’s report as well as the management council’s June 6 resolution.

The panel, comprising principals Shah Shabbir A. Yaseen and Anant G. Gosavi, has concluded that the college did not…More