Ranchi, May 25: North Indian institutes could not excite students here at the two-day education fair.

Many students who registered for it were not satisfied as the selection criterion was based on spot admission and donation. It was organised by S.S. Info Media and Events Private Limited.

Praveen Kumar, who was seen convincing visitors of offering courses in life sciences like bio-technology, bio-informatics told Anju Rani, a parent, that her child could get direct admission with 65 per cent marks.

“We would directly admit her now because by the time second list comes out, the cut-off would have increased,” he said. But Rani felt that they seemed to be in a hurry. “They are convincing us to take forms worth Rs 300 but giving less priority to merit basis,” Rani rued.

Yet another student who had flown down from Bokaro, Manohar Kumar, who had just passed his board examinations, said there are many institutes who are asking for donation ranging from Rs 2 to 3 lakh.

“I want to pursue BBA and its better to take admission in institutes after giving an examination,” he said.

Meanwhile, Shilpa Priya, who passed her board examinations from Jawahar Vidya Mandir, visited the fair with her mother. “It makes us aware about the institutes in different parts of the states,” said Veena Singh.

Manish Dhanda, the director of the S.S. Info Media and Event Private Limited, said not all the institutes are seeking donations.

“Many want ranks based on competitive examinations,” he said.

Deepak Kumar, who just completed his graduation, said: “We have never heard of such institutes and moreover asking for donation and high course fee which is not within our reach makes no sense. It’s better to qualify through MAT, XAT and CAT.”

The institutes include Delhi-based Times Business School, Skit Group of Institutions and Dehradun Institute of Technology.