KARACHI, Aug 5: More than 90,000 students are expected to seek admission to colleges and higher secondary schools in the city for first year classes as the process begins on Monday, officials in the education department estimate.

Dr Rafiq Ahmed Siddiqui, chairman of the Centralised Admission Policy (CAP) Committee of the provincial education department told Dawn that 41 authorised branches of the Habib Bank would start issuing admission forms on Monday.

He said the bank branches would accept the admission forms till Aug 21 after which a computerised evaluation for placement of the applicants would be done. However, he added, the date could be extended in case of a possible delay on the part of the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK) in providing consolidated marks sheets to its candidates.

Meanwhile, a BSEK official said that the marks sheets would be issued by mid-August.

Education officials said that the CAP had also set up 41 information centres where senior education officials, besides CAP Committee members, would be available to guide the admission seekers and their parents about the procedure of the exercise.

Each centre has been set up close to a designated bank branch.

The CAP Committee has decided that the forms of the candidates who have passed their matriculation from a board other than the BSEK be deposited either at Karsaz or Mansfield branch of the Habib Bank to avoid a delay that might occur in the process of sorting of cases and conversion of marks to the standards set by the BSEK. The same policy would be applicable in the case of O-level students.

In regard to the claim-A, to be submitted by the students who feel dissatisfied with their placement as per the merit list, it has been decided that the forms be collected at 10 designated colleges, five each for male and female applicants. CAP Committee members would be there to guide the claimants and remove their grievance.

There are 118 colleges and 32 higher secondary schools functioning in the city. Out of them 55 colleges and 15 higher secondary schools are for male and the rest for female students.

According to Dr Siddiqui, the rating of the colleges depends on the choice of the candidates and their parents. Elaborating, he argued that the institution scoring the highest number of willing admission seekers would earn it the status of best one.

He said the first year classes at colleges should start by mid-September if the BSEK issued marks sheets on time.