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CET Cell to set up 40 district-level student help centres
Maharashtra CET Cell will form 40 district-level student help centres to ease the burden on students and enhance examination efficiency
PUNE: The Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell is set to undergo sweeping changes aimed at easing the burden on students, and enhancing examination efficiency. Key changes, including the establishment of 40 district-level student help centres and the recruitment of permanent staff, were finalised during a high-level review meeting held Tuesday, chaired by higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil.
The CET Cell sanctioned the creation of 40 district-level student help centres across the state in response to persistent complaints from students regarding difficulties faced during application, examination, declaration of results, and the admission process.
“Currently, students facing issues are often forced to undertake long journeys to the CET Cell’s central office in Mumbai to register their grievances. This new network of district centres is designed to provide immediate relief, ensuring that all student complaints are resolved locally, significantly reducing travel and administrative hassles for candidates seeking admission to professional courses,” officials clarified.
During the review meeting, a robust plan to strengthen the state’s digital examination infrastructure was also sanctioned. The government committed to setting up 20,000 new computer-based examination centres across Maharashtra. Explaining the reason behind this, a senior official said, “Currently, we only have 7,000 computers available, which forces the CET Cell to rely heavily on private centres. The goal is to build a strong, reliable, and secure internal infrastructure.” Modern computer facilities, equipped with high-speed internet, will be installed in existing engineering colleges and university campuses. This infrastructure is expected to facilitate more efficient and large-scale examination conduct. Crucially, the facility will not be limited to exams alone but will be available throughout the year for general academic and educational purposes, thus simultaneously boosting the IT infrastructure of the state’s colleges.
Furthermore, the CET Cell – which has hitherto functioned with staff appointed on a contractual basis or deputed from other government departments – will finally get a permanent workforce in a long-awaited decision following a Supreme Court (SC) directive. The Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) has now been tasked with the responsibility of permanent recruitment of human resources with the hiring process scheduled to begin shortly. The final number and structure of posts will be announced soon. Officials believe that the induction of permanent staff will bring much-needed stability, and accelerate technical decision-making, approval procedures, and overall examination management, leading to more consistent, efficient operations of the CET Cell.
