Government high schools in the state are seeing a decrease in student enrollment in junior colleges. In total, there are 85,038 first-year students and 78,799 second-year students in 416 government junior colleges. Each junior college should ideally have 320 students spread across different groups.
However, some junior colleges have less than 100 students, while others have over 1,500 students. Private unaided junior colleges, on the other hand, have around 2.5 lakh students, with most of them in the MPC group.
During the 2022-23 academic year, 2,44,254 students were enrolled in the first year and 1,31,404 in the second year in private unaided junior colleges. In comparison, only 12,158 students were admitted to the MPC group in Government Junior Colleges.
The aggressive marketing strategies of private junior colleges attract students who performed well in Class X exams at government schools. This trend leaves Government Junior Colleges with low student numbers.
It is concerning that students who excelled in Class X exams at government schools struggle after joining private junior colleges. This situation leaves Government Junior Colleges struggling with low enrollment and uncertain futures.