As the results of Class 10 will be announced on June 25, the preparations for Class 11 admissions have already begun. G K Mhamane, deputy director (education) of Pune division, said, “Though the decision came just a week before the admission process begins, it won’t hamper the procedure as only 2,500 of the total 50,000 are students of CBSE and other boards.”

Around 70,000 application forms are printed every year for Class 11 admissions. When asked whether separate forms will be printed, Mhamane said, “There is no such need as the segregation can be done at the data entry level. Every year, we record the data of SSC and other board students separately. We will only have to bring out separate merit lists.”

M A Pendse, former principal of SP College who had also worked as chairman of admission process for Class 11, said it will not take much time to create separate merit lists. “Even last year when the percentile formula was implemented, we needed only two extra days to create the merit list. There will not be any delay beyond two to three days this year also.”

The education department is planning to organise comprehensive orientation programmes for parents at eight colleges — Garware, Sadhana, Modern, SP, Wadia and Muktangan in Pune and Mhalsakant, Akurdi and Jai Hind College, Pimpri — from June 23 to 26. “Till last year we conducted it at only two places; but we have to make parents aware of the 90:10 formula and the procedure of filling application forms for centralised admission this year,” said Mhamane.

However, the 90:10 formula has become sensitive as it is not about the quota, but getting more seats in a few reputed colleges. For example, there are 720 seats for Class 11 in SP College. If the formula is applied, there will be only 72 seats available to those from the CBSE and other central board streams. “The decision will ruin the chances of even meritorious students from these streams to get admission in reputed colleges,” a parent said.

The parents of SSC students are also up in arms. “If the parents of CBSE and other central board students move court, we will stand by the state government. As per the legal advice we have received, the formula will stand in the court,” said Arundhati Chavan, president of Parents-Teachers Association (United Forum).