The state government has declared plans to extend the Centralised Admission Process (CAP) for Class 11 or first-year junior college (FYJC) across the entire state of Maharashtra. Up till now, the system was only available in five urban areas: Amravati, Nagpur, Nashik, Pune-Pimpri Chinchwad, and Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
Additionally, the government has determined that junior college sessions shall start once the standard four rounds of admission are finished. All junior college students will then be eligible for open admission, with admissions being determined by merit. The divisional deputy director of education will be in charge of giving junior colleges and higher secondary schools the appropriate directives.
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Activists have criticised the decision, claiming that letting colleges manage open admissions on their own could result in corruption in the FYJC admissions process. To streamline the admissions process through a centralised online counselling method, the CAP system was initially implemented in MMR in 2009–10 and then expanded to Pune–Pimpri Chinchwad in 2014–15.
Students from every district in the state will now have access to a consistent, open, and effective admissions process, thanks to the most recent expansion. Students from remote areas would especially benefit from the change, which aims to streamline the procedure, cut down on delays, and guarantee equity.
According to the updated approach, junior college admissions would be conducted in four regular rounds, with any open seats going to the open category. Education activists are worried about this development.
The Junior Colleges Teachers Association president, Mukund Andhalkar, also criticised the move, claiming that there was no need for a state-wide admissions procedure that was entirely online. He cautioned that children will suffer severe academic losses as a result of the Class 11 admissions being postponed until September each year.
A senior education department official, however, defended the decision, claiming that switching to an online system will increase productivity, do away with the need for on-campus visits, and cut down on paperwork.
Andhalkar denied these allegations, claiming that the Class 11 online admissions system has been ineffective since its launch. "The government permits colleges to fill open seats on their own by the end of the admission cycle; they only need to report these admissions in the online system," he stated. This undermines the goal of a centralised online admission system since many parents wait until the last minute to have their children admitted to the universities of their choice.