FYJC aspirants will now have to give up a seat to get another

According to the FYJC application and information booklet released by the education department, FYJC aspirants who have already got admission under a quota will have to submit an admission cancellation letter from that college if they want to apply to another college assigned to them during the online admission process.

To prevent First Year Junior College (FYJC) aspirants from claiming more than one seat, the deputy directorate of education has made the rules for confirming admissions stricter this year.

The admission status of every student will be tracked using the unique identification number. (Ht Photo)

According to the FYJC application and information booklet released by the education department, FYJC aspirants who have already got admission under a quota will have to submit an admission cancellation letter from that college if they want to apply to another college assigned to them during the online admission process.

The department drafted this rule after it observed that in the past, students who have been granted admission under a quota, particularly in-house or minority quota, continue to look for a better college during online admissions, without giving up that seat. As a result, they end up blocking two seats even when there are students who struggle to get a seat, said senior education officials.

Read: Minority quota admissions early this year

“Several students would take admission through a quota as a backup and then keep trying for a better college during the online admission process. But this is against the rules,” said a senior education official.

The new rules states, “Candidates whose names appear in any of the merit lists, but who have already secured admissions through any one of the management, minority or in-house quota, should cancel their admission from that quota, obtain the admission cancellation letter and then approach the junior college allotted to them in the online merit list.”

Besides, the admission status of every student will be tracked using the unique identification number. “Hence, they will not be able to take admission offline in the general category,” said the official.

Read: FYJC admissions: Quota students have to first apply online

Last year, the department had put forth a condition that junior colleges should stamp the original leaving certificates of students cancelling their admissions to prevent them from seeking admission in another college. However, the condition was later revoked after opposition from parents and colleges.

But this time, the changes have been made on the instructions of the Bombay high court, while hearing a public interest litigation filed by Vaishali Bafna, a Pune student, alleging that the admission process lacked transparency.