While online admissions to junior college were a relatively smooth affair last year, several complained of just how time-consuming the process was, delaying the start of the new academic session. This time, the new education minister Rajendra Darda said he wants to decrease the period taken for online admissions, and wrap up the process well in time for the new academic session.

"The process should be completed in less time. The whole purpose of online admissions is to save time, so that more time can be spent on teaching, and less on administration," said Suhas Pednekar, principal of Ruia College. He said that after two years of implementing the process, the government should get it right this time round. "Admissions were relatively glitch-free last year, though there were a few minor problems," said Darda and added that the department wanted to iron out all the creases this time round.

Not everyone is gung-ho about online admissions, though. A principal, who did not wish to be named, said it would not be possible to reduce the time frame for online admissions, as the system has been centralized for the whole city. "With the current centralized system, the government may be able to reduce the time taken from two and a half months to one and a half months, but it will not be as brief as earlier. When the system was decentralized, it took us only 15 days to complete the admissions," said the principal.