Maharashtra govt sets up panel to fix FYJC online admission mess

After a delay of nearly four months, the state education department has finally formed a committee to look into first year junior college (FYJC) online admissions.

In the latest government resolution, the state has appointed a 14-member committee consisting of government officials, principals, senior journalists and parent representatives, to review online applications of FYJC aspirants and fix their woes within 15 days.

The committee has been formed after the Association of Non-Government Colleges (ANGC), along with the representatives of Yuva Sena, the Shiv Sena’s student wing, met school education minister Rajendra Darda on September 3. The association highlighted the plight of FYJC aspirants in the online admission process, which was started in 2008. Ever since, several students have claimed that they did not secure admission despite scoring more than the cut-off marks of the colleges they had applied for.

“Members have been selected on the basis of their expertise in online admissions. These people will be able to review and come up with solutions to problems faced by students in online admissions,” a senior education official said.

TA Shiware, principal of KPB Hinduja College in Charni Road, and chairman of ANGC, said, “Nearly 75% of the FYJC admissions are conducted offline through management, minority and in-house quotas by individual colleges, while 25% of admissions are conducted online. If colleges simply put up their forms online, which students can download, they can apply online and the admission process can be completed within 15 days.”

During the FYJC admission process for the academic year 2011-12, many students securing over 80% marks did not get seats in their college of choice. While 40,000 seats remained vacant in junior colleges, colleges lost 110 teaching days of the academic year due to the ruckus that followed.