Maharashtra: FYJC second merit list out, no major dip in cut-offs

60,037 students allotted seats in the FYJC second merit list. Cut-offs in top colleges in Mumbai dipped by 0.2% to 1.5% points.

The second general merit list for first-year junior college (FYJC) seats was announced on Saturday morning with overall cut-off in top colleges dipping by 0.2% to 1.5%. A total of 60,037 students have been allotted seats in the second admission round and these students have time until September 6 to submit appropriate documents and confirm admissions.

Students who were allotted seats in the FYJC second merit list students have time until September 6 to submit appropriate documents and confirm admissions. (HT FILE)

“Of the 60,037 students allotted seats in the second merit list, 13,282 have been allotted colleges of their first preference, 11,075 students have been allotted seats in the second preference college and 8,398 students have been placed in colleges of their third preference,” said an official statement released by the office of deputy director of education, Mumbai region.

Cut-offs across popular colleges in the city remained on the higher side, with many witnessing less than a percent point dip compared to the first merit list. At Narsee Monjee College in Vile Parle, the commerce cut-off ended at 93.4%, which is 0.6% point less than the first merit list.

At St Xavier’s College, the arts list dipped by 1.2% point whereas the science list ended at 91%, which is 1.8% point lower than the first merit list.

Similarly, at VG Vaze College in Mulund, cut-offs in science and commerce streams dipped a percent point or less compared to the previous list. But surprisingly, cut-offs for arts shot up by one percent point, from 89% in the first merit list to 90% in the second. “Student were given the choice to change their college preference list after the first round, so our second merit list ended at a higher cut-off,” said an official from the institute.

“Cut-offs were going to stay above 90% across top colleges because Class 10 students have scored very well this year across various school education boards. While students are confirming admissions at present, colleges are all worried that withdrawal of admissions will begin once common rounds are over and students will get the chance to approach individual colleges for admissions,” said the principal of a south Mumbai College.

A total of 1.17 lakh FYJC hopefuls were allotted seats in the first merit list on August 27. However, over 50% of these students, including a large chunk of those who were allotted colleges of their first preference did not confirm admissions after the first round this year. After the first round of seat allotment, students were given another chance to re-fill their college preference forms and become eligible for the second merit list.

“Surprisingly, even those students who have been allotted seats in colleges of their first preference are not accepting admissions, and this is a worrying trend. We are hopeful of cut-offs dipping in the third merit list, so students should not lose hope,” said Ashok Wadia, principal of Jai Hind College, Churchgate.

Due to rising Covid-19 cases, many school education boards decided to scrap Class 10 board exams this year and instead promoted students based on their performance in the current academic year as well as their performance in Class 9. This helped push the overall score of lakhs of students across boards to a higher bracket and several schools highlighted an increase in students scoring 90% and above in their batches. As per information shared by the Maharashtra state board, the number of students scoring 90% and above stood at 6.34% (1.04 lakh) in the state, as compared to 5.08% (83,262) in 2020.