The higher education department has announced the schedule for the start of classes at the postgraduate level in the state-aided universities.
A notice, issued by the department on Thursday, stated that the online portal for the receipt of applications will open on September 1 as the results of the final semester under-graduate programmes are expected to be published by the end of August.
First semester classes will start on October 3 after the publication of merit lists by September 20, the notice says.
An official of the department said the submission of forms would go on till September 15.
He said the start of the postgraduate academic session had to be deferred as several universities were forced to push back the conduct of the sixth-semester undergraduate examination because the college buildings were used for the panchayat polls held on July 8.
The exams in the theoretical papers of BA and BSc (honours), and BA and BSc (general), which were scheduled from June 27, will now start on July 15.
The practicals have been deferred as well.
“Since the start of the exam had to be pushed back, the results are unlikely to be published before the end of August. So, the start of the academic session at the masters’ level has been delayed as well,” an official of the department said.
The notice says: “The online admission system should be done strictly based on merit. Prospective students should not be called for counselling or for verification of documents during the process of admission. No physical presence is required at the higher education institutions.”
An official said verification of documents has to be done only when the student reports for admission to the classes in due course.
All testimonials are required to be uploaded online during the process of application.