Students seeking admissions to various educational programmes in First-Year Junior College (FYJC), diploma, Undergraduate (UG), Postgraduate (PG) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) courses are relieved by the decision of the state cabinet to allow Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) category or Maratha quota students to seek admission under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category with a 10 per cent seat reservation.
On the other hand, students have also questioned the delay in arriving at a decision, as some admission processes are completed half way. Students under the SEBC or Maratha quota said they have lost the chance to secure seats under reservation because the state government delayed in making a decision.
Kavya Pranjal, a student said, "Why did the state government take so much time to take a decision regarding the Maratha quota reservation? Three general merit rounds of FYJC admission have already been completed. Most students have secured admissions under the general category without any reservation."
On December 23, 2020, the Maharashtra government state cabinet took a decision allowing Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) category or Maratha quota students to seek admission under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). This decision was taken after admission processes were halted midway since September 9 because the Supreme Court (SC) directed an interim stay on reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for candidates belonging to the Maratha community in Maharashtra.
Following this, the state government halted all admission processes for courses, as it termed Marathas as a Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC). Vinayak Gurav, a student said, "Reservation is our right in Maharashtra, but the state government delayed the process. We will have to procure financial documents now for admissions under the EWS category."
The EWS quota is meant for people with annual family income below Rs 8 lakhs.
