Mumbai: For 16-year-old Aroonima P (name changed), the decision to opt for a diploma in Higher Secondary Vocational Courses (HSVC) over competing with fellow students for a seat in a junior college was easy. With her SSC score of 89%, she could have easily bagged a seat in the science stream of a junior college while preparing for entrance exams for the undergraduate engineering admissions, but she chose to utilise the time to study what she’s interested in—Computer Technology.
“If I choose to opt for junior college admissions, I will have to appear for class 12 (HSC) exams and then appear for another entrance exam before I get admission to an engineering institute. Not only does this add to the pressure, but also gives me no guarantee of admission to computer technology course,” said Aroonima.
As an HSVC candidate, who chooses to pursue a three-year diploma in the same subject, Aroonima can now directly apply for admission to a second-year BTech course in any state engineering college after completion of her diploma.
Admissions to FYJC seats were delayed by a few weeks this year as the office of the deputy director of education (DyDE) waited for class 10 results of all school education boards to be released before starting the process. After the last of the results were announced in the last week of August, registrations for FYJC admissions commenced and the first merit list was announced on August 3.
After three rounds of seat allotment (the third list was announced on August 22), seat vacancy in the open category stands at 1.31 lakh this year whereas vacancy in quota seats stands at 92,800.
Colleges attributed this increase in seat vacancy to the trend of non-state board students opting to continue their class 11 and 12 studies in their own schools. Many also pointed to an increasing trend of class 10 students opting for diploma courses, or admissions in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) over the past few years.
“Most colleges are fearing that students will keep applying for admissions to FYJC seats even after the common seat allotment rounds end. Students tend to wait till the end to secure a seat in a college and course of their choice, instead of opting for the random allotment done by the DyDE,” said Pooja Ramchandani, principal of HR College, Churchgate.
A spokesperson for the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (DVET) told HT that many students, especially those who have scored low and do not want to study for five years to find a job, tend to opt for ITIs. HSVC diploma courses too are popular among students.
“Vocational training is very skill-based, and many students prefer opting for HSVC courses in many new-age subjects like Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Radiology Technician, Tourism Hospitality Management and Marketing and Retail Management over regular HSC courses,” said an official from DyDE.
Students whose names appeared in the third and final FYJC seat allotment list have time until Wednesday, August 24 to confirm their admissions. The DyDE might announce an additional seat allotment to fill up the high seat vacancies in city junior colleges.
