Students and colleges call for GCAS reform after 36 admission rounds in one year

Gujarat Common Admission Services (GCAS), the portal the state launched in 2024 to centralise undergraduate, postgraduate, PhD and diploma admissions, is drawing sustained criticism from the students and colleges that have to use it.

The scale of the delay

• 36 admission rounds were run last season.
• Admissions stretched into November, although Class 12 results were declared at the end of May.
• Classes at some colleges did not settle until the end of September, and students were admitted without having attended.

What people are complaining about

Students report application errors with no help desk to turn to, and removal from merit lists over document verification without a clear explanation. Colleges say the process is too long and too complicated, that students are allotted institutions they did not want while nearby options go unfilled, and that seats stay blocked when applicants who have taken a private-university place do not withdraw.

Those quoted include student Jaivika Vaghela; S.N. Iyer, principal of RH Patel Arts and Commerce College; Ashish Dave, principal of Samarpan Arts and Commerce College; NSUI state president Narendra Solanki; and academic Manish Doshi.

How much of the state it covers

The portal currently lists 15 state universities and 16 private universities, out of more than 70 private universities in Gujarat. A large part of the private sector still admits on its own terms, through entrance tests or direct admission.

What this means if you are applying

Plan for a long season. Do not treat a GCAS allotment as the end of the process, keep your documents scanned and ready for verification, and withdraw formally from rounds you no longer want so your seat returns to the pool.

CareerBox News Desk, reporting on the Gujarat Common Admission Services (GCAS) admission rounds run by the state’s Department of Higher Education, and objections placed on record by students and affiliated colleges. Official portal: gcas.gujgov.edu.in. Dates and eligibility change; confirm them on the official portal before you act.