Junior colleges get 7,200 more seats

MUMBAI: Getting a first-year junior college (FYJC) seat in the upcoming rounds will be easy but it might not be in your preferred college.

MUMBAI: Getting a first-year junior college (FYJC) seat in the upcoming rounds will be easy but it might not be in your preferred college.

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The state’s education department recently added 7,200 new seats in 89 colleges on a self financed basis, driving up the number of available seats to 1.07 lakh.

But, officials are worried that there will not be many takers compared to junior colleges.

Out of 2.2 lakh applicants for FYJC, 1.53 lakh confirmed their admissions to allotted seats and over 70,000 did not claim seats as they are unhappy with the allotments. These students will try to get a better college in the special admission rounds beginning from August 8. Students who missed out on applying earlier have also got another chance to fill the forms by August 2.

The new seats are approved under the Maharashtra Self-Financed Schools and Establishments Act, 2012, which came into effect on January 4. The Act stipulates the opening of new divisions on a permanently unaided basis. Fees for these seats are higher than those aided by the government.

Although the new seats increased the number of seats available in the upcoming rounds, majority of the seats are in smaller colleges, which are not popular among students. Many of the seats are in colleges attached to schools such as Rustomjee International School and Junior College, Dahisar, RIMS International School, Andheri, Pawar Public School’s Junior College, Bhandup.

Few seats have been added to coveted colleges such as KJ Somaiya, Vidyavihar, Thakur College, Kandivli and Lala College, Haji Ali, but only in the minority quota.

The education department, however, is worried that there may not be many takers for these colleges.

“Although we have given them many options, students only opt for a few well-known colleges and drive up their cutoffs. Whereas seats in smaller colleges do not find a single applicant,” said BB Chavan, deputy director of education, Mumbai region.

Justifying their choices, students said colleges attached to degree colleges are preferred so that they do not have to change colleges after Class 12. “I want a college which offers degree and masters options so that I will not have to go through the hassles of admissions again,” said Nayantara Ghosh, a student from Navi Mumbai.