High scorers' pool could sway race to top degree colleges

MUMBAI: In the ISC exam results declared on April 30, the number of students in Maharashtra scoring 90% and above rose by over 30%, from 1,211 to 1,597. In comparison, the number of high scorers in HSC have declined. Although ISC students constitute a smaller pool overall, they are likely to intensify competition for popular courses at leading degree colleges, posing a challenge for state board students.

As admissions to senior colleges gather pace, students are navigating an expanding set of undergraduate options. Degree programmes now span more than 200 combinations. For students transitioning from junior college, the process increasingly involves distinguishing between these closely aligned programmes.

While Mumbai University has already commenced the pre-enrolment registration process for part one, allowing students to fill in their personal details, the schedule for the second phase, which includes submission of scores and college preferences and also applying to colleges, is expected to be released in a day or two.

College principals say the growth in course offerings reflects both demand and institutional positioning. At Mulund College of Commerce, the school of computing and technology has BSc courses in IT, data science, computer applications and computer science, all rather popular, drawing several engineering aspirants too, said vice principal Milind Patil. Traditional streams such as BA, BSc and BCom have diversified into multiple specialised variants. "Each college is trying to carve its niche, create a brand, stay relevant."

With an increasing number of affiliated colleges opting for autonomy and introducing newer skill-based programmes, students now have a wider range of choices, said Krutika Desai, principal of Mithibai College. "There is no dearth of options for students. However, in high-demand courses such as BA Psychology and self-financed programmes like BAF, BBI and BFM, students from the state board may find it harder to secure seats in top colleges," she said, adding they have increased divisions in popular courses this year.

There is also a blurring of disciplinary boundaries, with commerce colleges introducing analytical or data-oriented courses and science colleges offering commerce-linked programmes. Navin Punjabi, principal, KPB Hinduja College of Commerce, said his institution has introduced industry-aligned programmes such as BSc in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, BCom in Entrepreneurship, and BSc in Financial Markets and Analytics for future-ready learners.
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