IGCSE students in Mumbai risk missing FYJC admission process

Mumbai: More than 2,000 IGCSE students in Mumbai whose Class 10 results will be declared on May 19 will be left out of this year’s FYJC admission process in Maharashtra, as the registration window requiring students to upload their marks closes on Wednesday.

The mismatch in timelines has left students and parents worried, especially those seeking admission to sought-after junior colleges in Mumbai and across Maharashtra.

Kavita Aggarwal, chairman of the Maharashtra’s International Schools Association, and the Cambridge board officials have written to the state seeking an extension of the submission date. However, there has been no response to their requests.

Under the current FYJC schedule, students are required to complete Part 1 of the application by entering their academic details and marks by Wednesday. However, students from the Cambridge board do not have their scores yet and are unable to complete their registration, said faculty members.

Students can also simultaneously apply online for Part 2 covering management, in-house and minority quota admissions under the ‘zero round’. Students are also expected to fill preferences for a minimum of one and a maximum of 10 junior colleges before the provisional merit list is prepared on May 15.

“IGCSE students will miss out on FYJC admissions if the deadline is not extended. The idea of the February series exams is to ensure that students can be in sync with Indian admissions. And so most schools do not give predictive grades to them,” said educationist Francis Joseph.

Parents of IGCSE students said the schedule effectively excludes their children from participating in the initial stages of the process as their results are declared nearly a week later. Several parents said they have written to education authorities seeking an extension or separate accommodation for international board students.