Maharashtra’s Directorate of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education has directed junior colleges to strictly follow the central online admission process for Class 11 and warned that action will be taken against institutions granting unauthorised or excess admissions.
Under a government resolution issued by the School Education and Sports Department, admissions to Class 11 in higher secondary schools and junior colleges across Maharashtra have been conducted through a centralised online system from the 2025-26 academic year. The latest instructions have been issued to deputy directors of education to ensure that colleges comply with the process.
The directive follows the detection of cases in which some junior colleges allegedly admitted more students than their approved capacity or granted admissions offline. The Education Directorate has stated that colleges must not admit students through an offline process, according to a report by Loksatta.
The issue has implications for students whose admissions are not formally regularised. Such students may face difficulties when applying for the Maharashtra State Board’s Class 12 examination process, the directorate said. If an admission is not regularised, students could also suffer academic losses, the department warned.
The centralised process is intended to record admissions within the approved capacity of each institution. The latest instructions make clear that a seat offered by a college outside the prescribed process may not be sufficient to establish a valid admission for later academic procedures.
The Directorate has also warned that violations will attract action against the concerned junior college and its principal. Proceedings may be proposed under the Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (Conditions of Service) Act, 1977, and the rules framed under the legislation in 1981.
The warning places responsibility on colleges and school administrators to ensure that every Class 11 admission is processed through the authorised online system and remains within the institution’s approved intake. It also signals that admissions made outside the system will not be treated as a routine administrative irregularity if they create problems during the Class 12 application process.
The Education Directorate has instructed the deputy directors of education to enforce compliance with the central online admission system. The report does not specify the number of colleges involved, the number of students affected or a separate deadline for corrective action.
