Kozhikode: Reservation and merit are being subverted in plus-one community quota admissions. The problem is that community quota admissions are being made before merit-based admissions are completed through the single-window admission portal.

Admissions under the main allotment are conducted in three phases. The reservation is being undermined by the fact that admissions are done under the community quota in the second phase itself. Students who are eligible for admission on merit are being admitted under the reservation quota which is an injustice.

Earlier, admission under the community quota was done only after all the admissions in the main allotment were completed. It was only last year that the admission under the community quota was started along with the second phase of admission. Although there was a protest against this last year as well, there is no intention to change it this time too.

Another injustice is that a student who gains admission under the community quota loses the opportunity to move to a better option and school. Temporary admission is not possible under the quota, but permanent admission is. This is to assure the seat.

If a student with provisional admission from the first allotment wants admission under the community quota, they must first visit their initially allotted school, collect all documents, and mark themselves as non-joined on the single window admission website before their community quota data can be entered. Teachers note this process has created a crisis this year.

In a batch of 60 children, 12 will be in the community quota. This problem is causing a delayed admission process for so many children forcing several children who came for the second phase to wait until evening without completing their admission and eventually return home.