HYDERABAD, Sept 10: A large number of students of the district are likely to be deprived of admissions to Higher Secondary Certificate as the last date for submitting admission forms has not been extended by the Sindh education department’s steering committee.

Talking to this correspondent, the district officer, education, Syed Ali Akbar Shah, confirmed that the last date for admissions, Sept 10, had not been extended till Wednesday and that he was receiving reports from all over the district that there was a rush of applicants in colleges.

He said the steering committee should extend the date up to Sept 28 so that the colleges could accommodate the students.

He said the colleges opened late under directives of the education ministry in the wake of heavy rains and the admission schedule was announced during the rains. That was why students could not seek admissions earlier, he added.

Enquiries revealed that Sindh education department officials even did not know that Sept 10 was the last date for admissions to colleges.

In some cases, the number of students seeking admissions to government-run colleges was higher than last years’ admissions.

Education officials said colleges of Hyderabad and other districts could accommodate more students provided the last date was extended.

This correspondent witnessed a great rush of students in government institutions.