MUMBAI: Despite all education boards having a near 100% success rate in class X, the registrations for first-year junior college (FYJC) online admissions from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) have dropped by 16%. It has dropped further for SSC students by 18%. Principals believe that students may have migrated to their hometowns in the pandemic and plan to pursue their education there or may drop out altogether.
The online registration, which is key to getting admissions in colleges of choice, ended Sunday. A little over two lakh students registered for FYJC admissions in the MMR, comprising Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Palghar, as compared to 2.4 lakh last year. Colleges had expected more students to enrol as 12,000 more SSC students were declared passed this year compared to last year’s 3.62 lakh.
Principals said that the lockdown-induced migration of students and loss of jobs making it difficult to pay college fees could have led to a fall in the number of Secondary School Certificate (SSC) students dropping out of the admission process. “Students whose parents have lost jobs may either drop out or go to their native towns for higher education,” said a principal.
With a near 100% success rate in all boards, the state had planned for a common entrance test for class XI admission. The test was scrapped by the Bombay high court and the online admission process began. SSC students feared seats being taken away by their CBSE and ICSE counterparts as is the case every year. This year, it has been different for non-state boards.
In case of CBSE, 17% less students have registered for admissions to junior colleges in the Mumbai division. Around 10% less ICSE students have filled the online admission forms in city colleges. The drop in students from CBSE and ICSE not opting for junior colleges, could be attributed to more students choosing to stick to their respective education boards, said a principal. Every year, these students compete with their state board counterparts in college admissions. CBSE and ICSE schools this year had to increase their intake capacity to accommodate more students in class XI.
An official from the education department said that they were expecting the numbers to go up. “But less time was given this year for the registration process. There is also a possibility that many who have taken in-house and minority quota admissions are not aware about the online registration process,” said the official, adding that new registrations will be allowed after August 30. More students may have opted for ITI admissions to acquire skills, said another official.
The total intake capacity this year in the MMR remained the same as 2020—3.2 lakh seats in 843 colleges. The first general merit list will be out on August 27.
