KARACHI, Aug 23: About 83000 application forms and prospectuses for admissions to first-year Science, Commerce and Humanities classes in government colleges and higher secondary schools were sold till August 23, said sources in the admission committee.

Friday was the last date for the sale and acceptance of admission forms. Arrangements were made at 34 designated bank branches of the HBL to sell and receive the forms in extra hours. The bank branches in question received applications till 6 pm on Friday, added a source.

“It is likely that the merit or placement lists for admission to the Home Economics and Computer Science (general group) classes would be released within a week. The lists for the Science, Humanities and Commerce groups may be finalized and released in the first week of September”, said a senior teacher involved in the admission proceedings.

Referring to the rise in the sale of admission forms this year, one official of the education department of the city government said that it could be attributed to two factors. First, due to some confusions, the failures of annual examinations also purchased and submitted applications at the banks. Second, the government’s decision to entertain gap cases also has caused an increase in the number of applicants this year.

The sources said that a number of students who had applied for scrutiny or review of their results at the BSE were allowed to submit their applications without photocopies of marks-sheets. Once their cases were finalized by the educational board, such candidates would be required to submit the copies of the revised mark sheets, so that their data could be updated for admission purposes.

It was further learnt that the committee has also facilitated those candidates of the matric technical groups whose marks-sheets are yet to be delivered, and accepted applications from them. A committee official clarified that the candidates failing in the prerequisite examinations would not be allowed any provisional admission at all.