No takers for 72,872 FYJC seats in Mumbai after 9 rounds

The data shared by the state education department, revealed that of the 2.62 lakh students who had applied for FYJC admissions, only 2.32 lakh have confirmed their seats

Despite the state education department conducting nine rounds of admissions for first-year junior college (FYJC) aspirants this year, 72,872 seats in colleges across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) are still vacant.

This year, the state education department conducted five regular rounds and four first come, first served (FCFS) rounds for FYJC admissions.(HT File)

The data on vacant seats, which was recently shared by the state education department, revealed that of the 2.62 lakh students who had applied for FYJC admissions in MMR, only 2.32 lakh have confirmed their seats.

This year, a total of 3.05 lakh seats were available across 800 colleges in the city.

In 2017, over 50,000 seats were lying vacant in city colleges. Experts said that the rising number of vacancies in junior colleges is a worrying trend.

“The government is giving approvals to new colleges and for more divisions in existing colleges without considering whether or not there is a demand for the course in that particular locality. The entire demand is concentrated for a few colleges, while many other colleges have no takers, thus leaving a large number of seats vacant. The government should take a review of what are the factors leading to so many vacant seats,” said Vaishali Bafna, the founder of System Correcting Movement (SYSCOM), a think tank.

This year, the state education department conducted five regular rounds and four first come, first served (FCFS) rounds for FYJC admissions in MMR. With a large number of seats lying vacant, the department is now planning to give chance to students who are still without a seat to seek admission post Diwali break.

“While there won’t be an admission round as such, those who have not got a seat yet would get an admission if there is a vacancy in the said college. Such students would be allotted admissions only on priority basis and those who already have seats cannot apply afresh,” said an official from the state education department.