FYJC special round postponed to Dec 28 by Maharashtra govt

The state had planned to declare the special merit list on Thursday. However, with the government’s decision to extend EWS quota to students from Maratha community, such students will now be allowed to change their quota preference to EWS or general by Saturday

A day after the Maharashtra government approved the proposal of extending the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota to Marathas, the state education department postponed the special merit list for junior college admissions scheduled on Thursday to December 28.

After the third merit list which was declared on December 15, only 213 students have been admitted against 14,644 seats for the EWS category in colleges across MMR. (HT FILE)

The education department had earlier planned to declare the special merit list for admissions to first-year junior colleges (FYJC) in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) on Thursday, December 24. However, with the state government’s decision of extending the EWS quota to students from the Maratha community, such students will now be allowed to change their quota preference from SEBC to EWS or general by December 26. Students will also have to submit an undertaking for the new selection, as admissions will be provisional and will be subject to the submissions of documents required in future. Students who have availed EWS reservation will not be eligible for the SEBC reservation for admissions. Similarly, students who have already been admitted into colleges in the earlier rounds will be allowed to cancel their admissions in this round.

“Many students might not have applied for the EWS reservation as they might have applied for the SEBC quota. Hence, admissions will be given to them on a provisional basis,” said an official from the state education department. While the special merit list will now be declared on December 28, students who are allotted colleges can confirm their seats by December 31.

After the third merit list which was declared on December 15, only 213 students have been admitted against 14,644 seats for the EWS category in colleges across MMR. SEBC students can now apply against these vacant seats.

On September 9, in line with the Supreme Court’s interim stay on the SEBC quota in jobs and education, the state education department stayed the admission process for FYJC until further orders. While the state government restarted admissions early this month stating that they will take place without the 12% SEBC quota, it has now allowed students from the SEBC quota to opt for the EWS quota as per the state government’s decision on Wednesday.