India, June 26 -- Software glitches and procedural delays have hit 2.5 million students in Maharashtra, seeking admission to first year junior college (FYJC) and to professional courses, including engineering and medicine. If these issues are not sorted out in a few days, the students risk a delayed start to the 2025-26 academic year.

Confusion over FYJC admissions persists, with a fourth possible delay in the announcement of the merit list. The directorate of education, which was to release the first merit list on June 6, rescheduled its release to June 10. Then it further rescheduled the date to June 26. These unprecedented delays are impacting 1.3 million students, whose Class 10 results were announced more than a month ago.

However,...