Mumbai: ‘No entrance, spike in 90% scorers to push up cut-offs’

MUMBAI: With no Common Entrance Test (CET) for first-year junior college (FYJC) admissions and boards recording a jump in their 90%-plus scorers this year, city college principals expect the cut-offs to go north.
The registration process for online admissions will start on August 16 and subsequently students will be allowed to fill their choice of colleges too.As the merit list will be largely based on internal evaluation by schools, the fear of high-scoring students not making it to the college of their choice is a concern for many.

Asgar Lakdawala, founder and chairperson of Royal College, Mira Road, said, “With all high scorers placed on the same level, what guarantees a genuine student a seat of his or her choice?”
In Mumbai, around 15,500 SSC students scored more than 90% as opposed to 14,700 last year. The CBSE board also saw a 40% jump in their 90%-plus scorers from the previous year.
“For every one bright student, we will have to be ready for three to four students who have got inflated scores,” said a city college principal, adding all colleges will see a jump in their cut-offs compared with the previous year.
“Merit lists could get chaotic with so many high scoring students across boards,” said Vidyadhar Joshi, vice-principal of Kelkar-Vaze’s junior college.
Colleges now have to wait for the first merit list to get a clear picture of how and where students are seeking admissions, said Neelam Arora, principal, Lala Lajpatrai Commerce College, Mahalaxmi.
Another principal said since CET was delaying the academic cycle, it is better to go by board results.
Hemlata Bagla, principal of KC College and senior dean, HSNC University, said: “Holding a common test for admissions when the syllabus of all boards is not calibrated was unfair to a section of students. Last year, students scoring 90-91% were also seeking admissions under the management quota. This year, it could get worse. Since there are plenty of seats for all, students should secure seats wherever allotted.”
In Mumbai division, there were 3.2 lakh seats in 2020-21. A total of 2.6 lakh students applied, of whom 2.2 lakh or 86% students got admitted. Around 30% seats were vacant and admission for Class XI for 2020-21 extended till as late as March 2021. Across the state, 32% FYJC seats were vacant. This year too state education minister Varsha Gaikwad has assured seats to all students. With exams cancelled, all registered students were declared passed.
With a delay in admissions and CET, a fair number of students from CBSE and ICSE had decided to pursue junior college in their respective schools. A few may try their luck at a college of choice, said a principal.
Colleges in MMR, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad and Amaravati will be part of the online centralized admission process for Class XI. In May, the state had warned colleges against conducting admissions before the CET results.