Team Siliconindia

• Tripura Higher Education Minister assures admission for all class 12 state board passers amid protests over irregularities at Ramthakur Degree College
• More than 24,000 students passed this year; state government colleges have 33,000 seats, with efforts underway to increase capacity
• Suspended professor accused of illegal admissions; government emphasizes merit-based, transparent process and internal handling of college issues

Tripura's Minister for Higher Education, Kishor Barman, has assured that all those who have passed class 12 state board examinations will be given admission to government degree colleges in the state, in response to complaints after recent student protest over undergraduate admission in Ramthakur Degree College in Agartala.

This assurance comes amidst restlessness caused by reports of irregularities in admissions at the college, where a professor was suspended for allegedly admitting more than 100 students illegally by tampering with the principal's signature. 

Addressing on Sunday, Minister Barman admitted the huge number of students knocking at the doors of higher education this year, with more than 24,000 clearing the higher secondary examination, while government colleges of the state together have 33,000 seats available. He reiterated that while all passing students would be accommodated, the number of subjects and colleges may be restricted based on space limitations.

To take care of this, Barman added he had directed principals of degree colleges in Agartala to look into the possibility of enhancing seat capacity in order to accommodate more students and provide access to higher education.

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Regarding the agitation at Ramthakur Degree College, Barman explained that the department had nothing to do with the incidents outside the campus, pointing out that administrative problems at the college were being addressed internally. Controversy was raised when the head of a faculty member was found to have manipulated the admission process by ignoring official procedures, and the professor in question had been suspended.

On being contacted for a comment, Ramthakur Degree College Principal Papri Das Sengupta said that the college had already admitted more students above its official strength and was thus not in a position to accept any further admissions. She confirmed again that the admissions had been made purely on merit through an open online portal within specified rules.

The efforts of the government and assurances by the minister are directed at silencing student and parent unrest, reiterating the state's interest in offering higher education opportunities notwithstanding infrastructure and seat-related issues. Stress is on upholding merit-based admissions and avoiding irregularities to ensure the integrity of the education system within Tripura.