Mumbai: With a day left for the first general merit list to be declared, students of the open category applying for the First Year Junior College (FYJC) admission fear they will not be able to secure seats. Students belonging to the Maratha community can secure seats under the Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) quota introduced for the first time this year.
Students of the open category claim, it will be difficult to secure seats in leading colleges with this additional quota. The state has introduced a 16 per cent reservation of seats for SEBC and 10 per cent for Economically Weaker Section (EWS). The application process was extended so that students could fill in their details and apply under the quota.
If cut-offs rise it will be tough to secure a seat as scores of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) board students are low, claim state board students. Mangesh Tambe, a student, said, “We have scored lower marks compared to last year. In addition, the state has introduced quota reservation for Maratha students. This will affect the overall allotment of seats. ”
Authorities of the state education department claim they increased seats this year to allot seats to all students. Rajendra Ahire, deputy director of education, Mumbai region, said, “We have increased seats this year and included additional junior colleges in the process. Students need not worry as the admission process will allot a seat to each and every candidate who has applied.” This year, there are over 3.19 lakhs seats and over 1.85 lakh students who have registered for the admission process. Bhaskarrao Babar, assistant director of education, Mumbai region, said, “We have more seats and less number of applications. Students will be allotted seats as the entire online admission process is purely based on merit.”
