Education dept makes it harder for students to switch colleges

Switch can happen only if students give ‘valid reasons’ such as transfer of their parents

Students of colleges affiliated with the Maharashtra state board will now be able to switch institutions in second-year junior college (SYJC) only if they want to change their stream or move to a college closer to their home. Moreover, admissions for this switch would be done only on the basis of Class 10 marks.

With the SYJC admissions going online from the coming academic year, the department of education and sports issued a notification on April 28 restricting students from switching colleges without a ‘valid reason’. It stated that besides switching streams, students can change colleges in SYJC only if they are relocating to another part of the city or their parents are transferred.

Education officials said the decision was taken to stop students switching colleges casually. More than 50% students try to shift to a college they missed out on during the first-year junior college (FYJC) admissions.

“We allot colleges to students in FYJC through a painstaking process. Last year, we held eight rounds. But our efforts are wasted if they switch colleges in the SYJC unnecessarily,” said BB Chavan, deputy director of education, Mumbai region.

But the move has not gone down well with students and their parents, who claimed that

its violates students’ right of choosing a desired college.

“During the FYJC admissions, several bright students didn’t get colleges of their choice owing to the merit list. So they were banking on switching in SYJC,” said Munaf Shaikh, a parent from CST. “My daughter didn’t get a seat in the college of her choice in FYJC. Her college neither has have good faculty, nor the crowd is good. Isn’t this a valid reason to shift to another college?”

Students are also wary of the problems online admissions pose. “It is not fair for the state to dictate terms. I hope we will be allowed to switch colleges after Class 12,” said Zoya Merchant, an SYJC student.