India, June 4 -- Nearly 200,000 students in Maharashtra have not confirmed their admission to first year junior college (FYJC) or Class 11, even though they were allotted seats in the first round of the centralised online admission process. This development follows a new rule that gives them more flexibility in picking a college of their choice.

Data released by the state school education department reveals that 199,277 students chose not to take admission despite receiving college allotments.

A total of 1.25 million students had registered for the admission process. Of these, 887,000 had finalised their college preferences. In the first merit list, 574,945 students were allotted colleges. However, only 375,668 students completed admiss...