A training programme organised by Akshaya, an Information and Communication Technology dissemination project in the Indian state Kerala, in association with the National Informatics Centre (NIC) on the Internet-based counselling evoked enthusiastic response from students. Nearly 350 students took part in the live demo-cum-training sessions held at the Malappuram Collectorate in Kerala in three batches.
P.K. Basheer Ahamed, district officer of the NIC, showed the students all steps involved in the online CAP. Even when asking the students to exercise vigil, he showed them how easily and effectively the CAP can be done through the Internet. He walked the students through step-by-step Internet pages required to complete their registration and options. The best thing, according to Mr. Ahamed, is to take a printout of the pages and work on them before one actually goes on line. Students should keep the entrance brochure with them to ensure the college and course codes.
He cautioned the students against disclosing the roll number, admission number and the key in the admit card to others. One can scuttle the chances of a student by setting a false password if one gets to know the key. Another vital point the NIC district head made was about entering options. A student who opts a subject as a fifth preference, for example, can never get sixth or seventh preferences. Rather the student can get a higher option like fourth or third preferences if seats are available.
Showing them how to navigate through the site, Basheer said there were two ways to complete the online formalities. While the first method can take one to courses and colleges, the second can take the candidate through categories. The NIC official pointed out that the data entered could not be retrieved from the computer or from the Internet history files by others. This makes the programme secure and unique. As many as 4,000 students have already booked and 1.3 lakh options entered as the online counselling began. Malappuram became the sole district in the State not only to provide training in online CAP but also to offer extensive facilities for students through the Akshaya network. Explaining the online facilities available at the 327 Akshaya centres with Internet link in Malappuram, M. Salim, Akshaya district secretary, called upon the students to make use of the Akshaya broadband connectivity.
