KARACHI, Oct 30: The city government has decided to give a free hand to heads of higher secondary schools and colleges established recently in remote areas of the city in regard to class XI admissions for the current academic session.

Sources in the city government’s education department said that the heads of about 32 higher secondary schools and newly- established colleges located in remote areas could now grant admission to the students on their own in order to increase enrolment during the session.

It is learnt that the City Nazim had accorded permission to the heads of the educational institutions to grant admissions in first year classes for the 2002-2003 academic session, subject to the condition that the students fulfilled the prerequisites of admissions as already set by the centralized admission committee of the city government.

It was said that many of the higher secondary schools and colleges in remote areas had very meagre enrolment of students and the heads had proposed to the government that they should be allowed to admit students in addition to what they had already received through the CAP committee.

The motive behind the fresh government’ policy was not only to make the new colleges and higher secondary schools in general utilize the existing staff in a befitting way, but also to benefit the local students and accommodate the left-over matriculates, desiring admissions to the first-year classes, added the sources.

About 70,000 boy and girl applicants have already been placed by the CAP in the government-run colleges and higher secondary colleges till Oct 26 for admission to the first-year classes.

However, some of the schools and colleges are still far below the capacity, said a worker in the CAP.

According to sources, the city government’s education department had informed the heads of higher secondary schools and colleges to complete the admissions under the new directives latest by Nov 9.