MBA aspirants file PIL in Bombay HC against Maharashtra CET cell, demand re-exam

Days after Master in Business Administration (MBA) aspirants raised queries about discrepancies in the currently ongoing common entrance test exams, a group of students has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) against the Maharashtra CET cell.

Days after Master in Business Administration (MBA) aspirants raised queries about discrepancies in the currently ongoing common entrance test exams, a group of students has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) against the state CET cell.

An MBA aspirant must be able to express himself/herself clearly.

In their petition, the students have highlighted how despite clearly mentioning a set paper pattern for the entrance test, the exams did not follow the said pattern, which students have called unfair. Students, through this PIL, have requested that the CET results be stayed for the timebeing unless their queries are heard. They have further demanded a re-examination.

CET is an entrance test for admissions to professional undergraduate degree programs, including engineering, management, architecture, hotel management, pharmacy, agriculture and allied courses, among others. After an initial delay due to the pandemic, the exam is being conducted in multiple sessions starting September 20 and will go on till October 10. Nearly 1.3 lakh students appeared for the MH-MBA/MMS CET in the state this year.

“Students tried on several occasions to bring this issue to the notice of the CET officials, but all in vain. We have also approached state minister for higher and technical education Uday Samant to look into the matter. We now hope the judiciary will give us justice,” said Vaibhav Edke, petitioner, and president, Maharashtra Students Welfare Association (MSWA).

As per the official CET website, MBA aspirants’ entrance exam has a total of 200 questions divided between four topics—Logical Reasoning (LR), Abstract Reasoning (AR), Quantitative Aptitude (Quant) and Verbal Ability (VA). “The paper pattern mentioned in the official examination brochure states that LR will have 75 questions, AR will have 25 questions and the remaining two topics will have 50 questions each. What did happen, however, is that some students got 90 questions in LR instead of 75 and others got 30 questions in the same topic. Similarly, some students got 70 questions in Quantitative Aptitude while others got 50. This means the exam was not held on a common platform,” said one of the students who appeared for the entrance exam this year.

“Some of us who had jobs have already quit because we had all our hopes on the entrance exam going well and scoring well too. But with the discrepancies in the manner in which the exam was conducted, we are worried about scoring well,” said a student from Pune.