Mumbai students, unable to confirm FYJC quota seat? Blame glitches in the admission portal

Mumbai city news: Quota aspirants were told to fill only part one of online form, but portal won’t confirm admission without part two

A few weeks after admissions to first year junior college (FYJC) were conducted, students who were allotted seats under various quotas have still not been able to confirm their seats owing to glitches in the admission portal. They will now have to wait till July 15 for confirmation.

Colleges were instructed to give students admission ‘on paper’. (HT File Photo)

Around half the seats in minority colleges are reserved for students from that community or linguistic group, while 20% are for in-house students and 5% for management students. Admissions to these seats were held at the college level through a ‘zero admission round’.

Now, colleges are unable to update the admissions of several students who had applied for quota seats online as they have not filled part two of their application forms. The online application form consists of part one — in which students fill out their personal details — and part two — in which they list their college preferences. Quota aspirants were told to fill only part one.

However, the admission software is now unwilling to accept incomplete forms, even for quota students. BB Chavan, deputy director of education, Mumbai region, said he has instructed colleges to give students admission ‘on paper’. These will officially be confirmed only after the students complete their applications.

Discrepancies have crept into the admission process this year, despite the department’s efforts to streamline them and ensure that all admissions are conducted fairly. A lack of clarity over the department’s instructions is to blame, said students.

“My daughter applied for general category online. We are eligible to apply under the Muslim minority quota and so we approached a Bandra college with the information. However, the college rejected our application and told us we could not secure quota admission as we had opted for admission online,” said a woman from Mahim.

According to admission rules, students should be given admissions to quota if they have applied for it regardless of whether they applied online. “We told the parent to ask the college to call us. We will explain the rules to them,” said a senior education officer.

Some students said the marks awarded to them for excelling in cultural activities or sports have still not been updated on the admission website.

If this continues, these students will be deprived of seats in the first merit list, out on July 10.