Special Correspondent
Mumbai : In a significant policy reversal, the Maharashtra School Education Department has withdrawn its earlier decision to implement social reservations on vacant minority quota seats and the remaining 45% open category seats in minority junior colleges. The revised Government Resolution (GR), issued on Monday, now mandates that all such seats will be filled purely on the basis of merit, putting an end to the application of social quotas in minority institutions for Class 11 admissions.
This decision comes in response to widespread objections and legal action taken by various minority organizations, including the Maharashtra Association of Minority Educational Institutions, against the earlier government directive. The High Court, upholding the constitutional rights of minority institutions, directed the state not to impose social reservations on any seats in these colleges.
Under current policy, 50% of the seats in minority junior colleges are reserved for students from that minority community, while 5% are reserved under the management quota. The remaining 45% seats are to be filled from the open category. Traditionally, if minority quota seats remained vacant, they would be converted to open category seats and filled purely based on merit.
However, this year, based on recommendations from the Minority Development Department, the School Education Department had decided to apply social reservation policies (such as SC, ST, OBC quotas) to both the remaining 45% seats and unfilled minority quota seats. This move faced strong opposition from minority education institutions who argued that it violated constitutional provisions that protect their autonomy.
Taking note of the legal challenges and the court’s directive, the School Education Department issued a corrected GR on June 24, 2025. According to this updated decision:
No social reservations will apply to the remaining 45% open category seats or to the unfilled minority quota seats in recognized minority junior colleges.
Admissions to these seats will now be done strictly on the basis of merit.
However, all other non-minority schools and junior colleges across the state will continue to follow the existing social reservation policies for Class 11 admissions.
This revised policy is expected to ease tensions and bring clarity to the ongoing Class 11 Centralized Admission Process (CAP) in Maharashtra, particularly for Muslim, Sikh, Christian, and Sindhi minority institutions.
