Bhubaneswar, June 27: With the higher education department universalising e-admissions for all junior colleges from this year, much of the freedom that the students enjoyed in the selection of colleges is lost.

While applying, a candidate has to make a list of six choices of colleges in order of preference. However, the new procedure forecloses the option of downward movement for the students who might want to make a change and go lower down the order of choice.

The upward movement, though, is possible in the sense that a student, who fails to make it to a particular college on the basis of first selection list because of he/she secured lower marks, can still make it if a vacancy arises in the second selection and he/she has marks to match.

The lack of this option to slide down the preference list will affect students hailing from economically weaker families. “If my daughter secures a seat in the college according to her first preference, but changes her mind in the last minute or my financial condition does not allow me to send her away, we would left with no option. It would be compulsory for her to join a college which is either far off or charges higher fees,” said Mahendra Mallick, a parent.

“Earlier, there was the option to seek a transfer to a less meritorious college, but with the new provision, this freedom is gone,” said N.K. Sahoo, another parent.

“Any wrong decision could land us in trouble as once we are allotted a seat in a particular college, it is compulsory to take admission there. If we do not take it up, then we would end up losing one year,” said Gyan Ranjan Patnaik a student. “I would like the authorities to make the system more student-friendly so that it is more beneficial for the economically backward students,” he added.

On the other hand, principal of BJB (Junior) College, Surendranath Mohanty, said he was aware of the problem with downward movement in the preference list and students have to exercise caution while filling up the common application forms online.

“I am aware of the fact that students would not be allotted a college which is lower down their option list once they get a more meritous college. But the problem with down sliding is that it is more time consuming in the prescribed format of e-admission,” Mohanty said.