While it’s mostly reported that students exceed the number of seats in colleges, this year, more than 70,000 seats in class XI will remain vacant. While the primary reason is the difference between the number of students and seats available — 2.22 lakh students and 2.69 lakh seats — according to the education department, several students are either opting for top colleges or resorting to diploma courses right after school. As a result, junior colleges have left with many empty seats.

Confirming this, deputy director education BB Chavan, said, “While there’s a huge gap in the number of students this year and seats available, more than 15,000 students have withdrawn their admission applications recently to pursue diploma courses in engineering and other fields. Students now would rather invest in technical know-how than spend two years in junior colleges.”