39 new colleges added to FYJC list in Mumbai, all admissions to go online
The new colleges will offer many streams, from minimum competency vocational courses (MCVC) to technical ones, along with the regular humanities, science, and, commerce subjects.
Students will have a lot of options to choose from in the first year junior college (FYJC) admissions for the academic year 2017-18. Thirty-nine new colleges have been added to the list this year, taking the total number of colleges from last year’s 739 to 778.
The procedure is conducted online for students taking admission in Class 11.
The new colleges will offer many streams, from minimum competency vocational courses (MCVC) to technical ones, along with the regular humanities, science, and, commerce subjects. These colleges include the ones that are self-financed.
This means that the number of seats will increase when compared to previous years. While in 2016, the number of seats was 1. 49 lakh and 1.45 lakh in 2015, this year it is expected to cross 2 lakh. Admissions to technical and vocational courses will be done online this year. In the past, applicants for these courses had to go through the admission procedure offline.
Education officials said that this will benefit students as they will be able to apply at the click of a button, instead of following a separate admission procedure. “All class 11 admissions in Maharashtra will be done online, this will save students from running pillar to post for filling forms,” said BB Chavan, deputy director of education, Mumbai region.
However, college principals are sceptical about any differnce that the increased number of seats will make. “In Mumbai, students apply only to selected colleges and mainstream courses. These are popular colleges with attached degrees,” said Vidyadhar Joshi, vice-principal, Vaze Kelkar College, Mulund. He added that new colleges do not find many takers.
The admission process has undergone an overhaul for the upcoming academic session, drawing lessons from last year’s goof-ups, in which students complained that they were not allotted seats according to merit.
From the upcoming admissions, aspirants will be able to apply to fewer colleges – a maximum of 10. This rule has been introduced for the first time this year, as students complained that it was tough to list 35 colleges as per the earlier requirement.
Candidates will be allowed to apply to only one stream, instead of two. But they will be able to change their choices during admissions. Choice of junior colleges will not be restricted to zones or wards anymore. Students can pick a minimum of one and a maximum of 10 colleges in their region.
What’s new this year:
More number of colleges: 778 colleges have registered so far, up from 739 last year.
Fewer options to be selected:Students can pick a minimum of one and a maximum of 10 colleges in their region.
Only one stream: Candidates will be allowed to apply to only one stream, instead of two earlier. But they will be able to change their choice of stream during admissions.
Apply to a college anywhere in Mumbai: Choice of junior colleges will not be restricted by zone or wards anymore.
Early admissions: The admission process is also expected to begin earlier than usual in the first week of June.
Four admission rounds: Soon as the SSC results are announced, the education department will conduct four rounds of admissions, once every week between June 15 and July 15, after which FYJC classes can begin.
Complete admissions by September: If vacant seats remain, three additional rounds of admission will be held once every two weeks up to September 1.
No need for provisional admissions: Students allotted their first preference must pay the complete fees and finalise their admission. They will then not be allotted seats in further rounds. Those who are happy with the seat allotted to them can also pay fees. Only those who do not take admission can wait for further rounds.
Zero round: Will be conducted for online admissions to Higher Secondary Vocational Course (HSVC) and quota seats – religious or linguistic minority, in-house and management. If seats remain, they will be filled on a first-come-first serve basis.
