Mumbai: Junior colleges will have the liberty to surrender the vacant minority and in-house quota seats even after the end of the first round of first-year junior college (FYJC) admissions. Earlier, colleges were allowed to return the seats to the general pool only after the third round of admissions, and it was mandatory. Now, it is made voluntary. The change was brought into effect through a govt resolution (GR) passed on Monday. Following two changes in the quota admissions, the school education department has also extended the deadline for FYJC students’ registrations by two days.Students can now register on the portal until 2 pm on June 5. Earlier, the last date was until 6 pm on June 3. So far, 10.94 lakh students have registered on the admission portal, including 2.66 lakh from Mumbai. This is the first time that FYJC admissions have gone online across the state and are being conducted in a centralised manner too.The GR issued on Monday mentioned that a revised procedure was adopted for the surrendering of seats under the minority quota, and therefore, the deadline was extended. The rule mentions that managements are allowed to fill the 50% minority seats on merit until the completion of the first round. However, if seats remain vacant after the first round, minority institutes will be allowed to transfer the remaining seats to the general pool. If colleges receive applications from minority students in the second round, these will be given priority for admissions, mentioned the GR. The GR adds that transferring remaining seats will be entirely optional and not mandatory for them.Two days ago, the rules for the in-house quota were modified to include secondary schools and junior colleges in the same revenue district as one unit. Seats in the in-house quota will be allowed to fill on merit till the end of the second round for general admissions, and the remaining seats have to be mandatorily returned to the govt.