31 new junior colleges create seat boom

Updated on: Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Class X students facing the daunting task of SSC examinations this year can take heart: Thirty-one new junior colleges have come up in the Mumbai region since last year, giving them more opportunities. What has also helped is the education department’s decision to give examinees the chance to mention as many as 35 college options on the online admission form.

After witnessing the struggle that students went through last year after their SSC exams, the government had encouraged interested schools to apply for setting up junior colleges. Thirty-one new junior colleges have come up in the region since then. “Last year itself, many new colleges had come up. This year, more schools have been granted permission to start junior colleges,” said a senior official of the school education department (Mumbai region).

In a parallel move, the school education department has made the online admission system more convenient by allowing students to apply to more colleges. Last year, students had the option of applying for a minimum of five colleges and a maximum of 30. They, then, had to back this up by giving their choice of zones and wards. Many students ended up giving five to 10 college codes as options, which left them either in a college not of their choice or without a seat.

“Last year, even after the announcement of five merit lists, close to 4,400 students were left without a seat,” said the official, promising that things will be better this year.

Where last year the minimum number of colleges a student could apply to was five, this year it is 15. And while last year, the second and third options for students was to mention the area of preference and their wards, this year students will get the opportunity to apply at specific colleges in those areas and wards.

31 new junior colleges create seat boom

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