MUMBAI, May 23 -- After the website crash and subsequent derailment of the First Year Junior College (FYJC) online admission process on May 21, the directorate of secondary and higher secondary education has now announced that the process will resume on Monday, May 26, from 11 am. The deadline for online registration and college preference is till June 3, and the first list will be announced on June 10. Mahesh Palkar, director (Projects) of school education, announced this in a note on the department's official website https://mahafyjcadmissions.in/. The department has also stated that students wanting to secure admission to any of the colleges in the first list will have to confirm this by clicking on the 'Proceed for Admission' button on the portal and then complete the further admission process by visiting the chosen college offline. This year, for the first time, the government is conducting the FYJC admission process online across the state. This has invited criticism from the State Junior College Teachers Federation, which has pointed out problems such as the lack of network in rural areas and lack of smart phones in tribal areas. The Federation has demanded that FYJC admission in these areas be done offline and has sent a letter regarding this to the chief minister, deputy chief minister and school education minister. Mukund Andhalkar, chairperson of the federation said its members had given "10 reasons" for their demand. "Apart from the lack of network facilities in rural areas and non-availability of smart phones, the number of students in rural areas is less than the available seats in colleges there," he said. "No one has to compete for seats, and thus the admissions can easily be done offline." Andhalkar pointed out another reason: that students, parents and teachers lacked knowledge about the online admission process. Political parties have also come forward to voice their protests. While raising concerns about the work experience of the company appointed for the FYJC admission process, Santosh Gangurde, state coordinator of the Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena (MNVS), said, "Even though the Class 10 results were out sooner this year, students and parents have been unable to fill the admission application due to technical difficulties like the website crash. This is a tragic and condemnable matter for progressive Maharashtra. It appears that the preparation and testing of the new agency appointed for the admission process was inadequate." Pradeep Sawant, member of the Yuva Sena, Shiv Sena (UBT), said, "MLA Varun Sardesai will send a letter to the chief minister regarding the FYJC admission as well as other education issues in the state." Sawant also stated that it was necessary for the government to come out with a proper solution to streamline the FYJC admission process....