The Knowledge Park in Greater Noida that attracts thousands of admission seekers is under the siege of the touts who have mushroomed over the years and function in most brazen way.
The touts or the middlemen are to be seen everywhere trying to induce and entice the worried parents and their wards for getting a seat in sought after professional courses and degrees.
These brokers have a unique modus-operandi and they pose as college students and offer slew of services to the students but this sweet talk in the garb of help comes with a price tag.
The negotiation for seats varies from Rs 2 to 10 lakh. Their complicity with the college management and the glib talk helps them in convincing the students and their parents. They have been raking up the moolah under the very nose of the district administration that prefers to look the other way.
Over the years, both Noida and Greater Noida have become hubs of engineering and management institutes affiliated either to Mahamaya Technical University (MTU) or Gautam Buddha Technical University (GBTU). MTU has a campus in Noida while GBTU operates from the State capital.
"Colleges have started charging extra fee in the last few seasons. Earlier, one needed to pay Rs 5 lakh donation to secure a BTech seat in reputed colleges, but now it comes at nothing less than Rs 7 lakh. We take around 30 per cent share of the total amount charged from the aspirant while the remaining amount is distributed among college staff that helps in managing the entire affair," said a tout.
However, the university administration has warned students to not to fall into such traps and follow the admission guidelines properly. "Students should keep following the university's website that provides updates and counselling to the admission seekers. We are regularly updating admission information on it. They should either download the form, or come to the campus to collect it. There should be no other way to get admission," said a MTU official.
As a matter of fact, more than two lakh students enroll in more than 15 streams in 87 colleges located in the region and touts become active after the results of UP State Entrance Examination (UPSEE) are declared in mid-June.
"People approach us on the promise that they can expedite the admission process, irrespective of whether our names figured in the cut-off list or not. They asked us for our certificates and copies of the admission forms and an amount in terms of security deposit," said Pratyush, a BTech aspirant.
"There are many who fall prey to the machinations of these agents offering seats in the chosen course and the preferred college," a said an official pleading anonymity.