Allow FYJC aspirants to edit college choices: Principals after court stay | Mumbai News

Mumbai: The school education department may have to allow students from socially and economically backward classes to change their preferences on the FYJC admission portal following Bombay high court’s stay on the controversial clause in the May 6 govt resolution (GR) that introduced social reservations in the 50% non-minority seats in minority institutions, said principals of city colleges. This, they added, may delay the admission process further.While department officials said that necessary steps will be taken for the welfare of students, no decision was made on providing the editing option on the portal until Thursday night.Many students belonging to the socially and economically backward classes would have chosen minority institutions on the admission portal, said a principal. “There is a possibility that all their 10 choices are for minority institutions or even if they selected two or three, their order of preferences will be affected. Now, with the HC decision, these students will have to be given a fair chance to edit their options and to apply to the same colleges under the open category too, based on their merit. Or maybe to choose other colleges too. If they are not allowed to change now, there could be confusion after the allotment,” added the principal. The allotment list for the first round is set to be released on June 26.Another principal pointed out that govt did not issue clear guidelines prior to the commencement of admissions. “The May 6 GR talks only about admissions to vacant minority seats. There was no application of mind behind bringing such a regulation. If govt was clear about its intention, institutions would have moved court before. Now, we just hope the change does not impact the admission schedule much,” said the principal, pointing out that SSC results were out over a month ago.A govt official confirmed that no decision has been made yet. “We will study the HC order copy and then take appropriate action for the larger benefit of students. We will make necessary changes, if needed,” said the official, adding that this is the first time that students have access to thousands of colleges across the state by just filling one form for Rs 100. Meanwhile, admissions to in-house, minority, and management quotas commenced Thursday. Of the over 1.1 lakh students who applied under these quotas, 9,087 have secured admissions. Mumbai: The school education department may have to allow students from socially and economically backward classes to change their preferences on the FYJC admission portal following Bombay high court’s stay on the controversial clause in the May 6 govt resolution (GR) that introduced social reservations in the 50% non-minority seats in minority institutions, said principals of city colleges. This, they added, may delay the admission process further.While department officials said that necessary steps will be taken for the welfare of students, no decision was made on providing the editing option on the portal until Thursday night.Many students belonging to the socially and economically backward classes would have chosen minority institutions on the admission portal, said a principal. “There is a possibility that all their 10 choices are for minority institutions or even if they selected two or three, their order of preferences will be affected. Now, with the HC decision, these students will have to be given a fair chance to edit their options and to apply to the same colleges under the open category too, based on their merit. Or maybe to choose other colleges too. If they are not allowed to change now, there could be confusion after the allotment,” added the principal. The allotment list for the first round is set to be released on June 26.Another principal pointed out that govt did not issue clear guidelines prior to the commencement of admissions. “The May 6 GR talks only about admissions to vacant minority seats. There was no application of mind behind bringing such a regulation. If govt was clear about its intention, institutions would have moved court before. Now, we just hope the change does not impact the admission schedule much,” said the principal, pointing out that SSC results were out over a month ago.A govt official confirmed that no decision has been made yet. “We will study the HC order copy and then take appropriate action for the larger benefit of students. We will make necessary changes, if needed,” said the official, adding that this is the first time that students have access to thousands of colleges across the state by just filling one form for Rs 100. Meanwhile, admissions to in-house, minority, and management quotas commenced Thursday. Of the over 1.1 lakh students who applied under these quotas, 9,087 have secured admissions.