Mumbai: The Government of Maharashtra has appealed for help from schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) for reducing the yawning gap between the number of students who have passed class X this year and the total seats available in the First Year Junior Colleges.

"The Government has given its nod to several CBSE and ICSE schools for starting the X, XI and XII classes. These schools, however, do not do so. Class X students from such schools are left with no option but to join junior colleges offering HSC. If the schools start the XI and XII classes, it will greatly reduce the burden on the HSC Board", said Sanjay Kumar, State Education Secretary.

The State Government will also ask schools with adequate infrastructure and which have a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to function upto class X, to start classes for XI and XII.

With more than 13.15 lakh students vying for the 9.75 lakh seats available in the first year junior colleges, the government is trying to create additional seats in junior colleges to meet the demand.