Students to get two attempts at all state CETs from this year

MUMBAI: Students appearing for the state Common Entrance Tests (CETs) for admission to technical, professional, medical and other higher education courses will get two attempts to take the examinations from the current academic year, Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil said on Monday

MUMBAI: Students appearing for the state Common Entrance Tests (CETs) for admission to technical, professional, medical and other higher education courses will get two attempts to take the examinations from the current academic year, Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil said on Monday.

The decision will extend the facility to all 19 CETs conducted by the state CET Cell, giving students an additional opportunity to improve their scores. Until now, two attempts were offered only for select courses, including engineering and MBA/MMS.

Patil announced the decision while speaking to reporters after an event at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University in Lonere. Last year, the CET Cell conducted two examinations in April and May for selected courses. The facility will now be extended to courses such as law, Bachelor of Education (BEd) and other technical, professional and medical programmes.

The move is expected to give students greater flexibility in preparing for entrance examinations. Those dissatisfied with their scores in the first attempt will be able to appear again and improve their performance.

The state government is also considering changes to the eligibility criteria for admission. One proposal is to raise the minimum aggregate marks required in the Class 12 board examinations, rather than give weightage to board examination scores during the admission process.

Currently, students need at least 45% aggregate marks in Class 12 to meet the eligibility requirement. However, no final decision has been taken on the proposed changes. The government will consider the recommendations of a designated committee before deciding on the matter.

If approved, the revised policy will be implemented from the 2028-29 academic year, giving students sufficient time to prepare for their board examinations under the proposed system.

The government is also preparing an examination manual to standardise the CET process. It will lay down standard operating procedures for conducting examinations, selecting examination centres, preparing question banks and evaluating answer sheets.

Patil said the manual was expected to be ready within the next 15 days. The guidelines are aimed at bringing uniformity to the conduct of examinations and ensuring that common procedures are followed across all CETs.

Patil also said that a decision concerning government colleges would be taken after Diwali, following the submission of a report by the Suhas Pednekar committee, which has been appointed to finalise the election process. The final schedule and procedure for the elections will be announced after the report is received.