In its third year, the Gujarat Common Admission Services (GCAS) has expanded beyond public universities. Sixteen private universities are joining the centralised online admission platform from Thursday, taking the total number of participating institutions to 31.
The system will now cater to over 5 lakh students who have cleared Class 12 from boards including GSEB and CBSE and are seeking undergraduate admission. A total of 720 programmes are on offer with 616 across 15 public universities and 110 in private universities. At least four more private universities are expected to update their programmes on the portal shortly.
Private universities joining this year include LJ University, Silver Oak University, Dr Subhash University, Gyanmanjari Innovation University, Indus University, Institute of Advance Research, KN University, Rai University and Nobel University, among others.
50% seats through GCAS, rest with universities
LJ University president Manish Shah said the single-portal model was the deciding factor. "The vision of offering a single platform to Gujarat and outside Gujarat students convinced us to be part of it," he said.
"It is for the benefit of students who will get all access, information and options in a single click via the GCAS portal. Also, the students' choice of programme in the centralised system offers cumulative statistics which will help us understand student choice trends. Our only concern was multiple admission rounds that delay the academic cycle, but the education department has assured us to complete the admission process in three to four rounds," Shah added.
Janak Khandwala, Vice President at Silver Oak University, called it "a win-win choice for students, private universities and the education department."
"As part of GCAS, admission to 50% of seats will be through the centralised system and the remaining 50% will be handled by the private university. The GCAS website also helps attract target students due to the visibility provided to universities, helping us expand reach. The foremost reason for joining GCAS is that the education department has offered us the liberty of voluntary participation, and we have the power to withdraw from the 2027 admission cycle if we do not wish to continue," he said.
Officials said GCAS aims to complete admissions in limited rounds so universities can begin first-year academic sessions by mid-July.