In Maharashtra, number of teaching aspirants applying for CET more than doubles in 2 years

This is a 57% increase compared to last year, when 34,256 aspirants registered for the test, and a whopping 121% rise since 2016-17, which saw 24,402 registrations

Registrations for Maharashtra’s Common Entrance Test (CET) for bachelor of education (BEd) continues to increase this year, following a sharp decline in the last two years ago.

According to an official from DHE, the number of aspirants have increased due to the efforts of private BEd colleges, who reluctantly signed up for the government CET. (HT FILE/PICTURE FOR REPRESENTATION)

Data from directorate of higher education (DHE) shows that 53,692 teaching aspirants signed up for the entrance test this year. This is a 57% increase compared to last year, when 34,256 aspirants registered for the test, and a whopping 121% rise since 2016-17, which saw 24,402 registrations.

Ramzan Shaikh, general secretary, Maharashtra Vinaanudan Adhyapak Mahavidyalaya (MVAMSA), said that more aspirants have decided to take the test this year in the wake of the possibility of the BEd programme, which are two-year courses, being converted to four-year integrated programmes such as BA BEd, BSc BEd and BCom BEd. “Students usually decide to pursue BEd after graduation. If the integrated course is introduced, students will have to do a four-year long course after graduation,” he said.

This is the third admission cycle after the government scrapped the entrance test conducted by private BEd colleges and introduced a single state-conducted CET for all teacher training colleges in the state. The move had resulted in a significant dip in the number of students seeking admission in 2016-17.

Till academic year 2015-16, students were admitted to around 550 unaided colleges on the basis of scores in a CET conducted by MVAMSA — an umbrella body of unaided teacher training colleges, while the state held a separate CET for admissions to around 50 government-aided colleges. For the last two years, all the admissions were done through the government CET.

According to an official from DHE, the number of aspirants have increased due to the efforts of private BEd colleges, who reluctantly signed up for the government CET. “These colleges have realised that until they take efforts [to introduce CET to teaching aspirants], they will have to shut down their institutes,” he said.

Due to low registrations in 2016-17, only 12,000 out of over 37,000 BEd seats were filled; with two out of three seats available for the course left vacant. Even last year, in 2017-18, there were no takers for 30% of the seats, despite the surge in registrations.

However, Shaikh is hopeful that with more takers for the CET this year, colleges will likely have all their seats filled.

HT had earlier reported that government officials had blamed private colleges for the dip in enrolment, accusing them of keeping aspirants under a false impression that the CET conducted by MVAMSA will eventually be held. As a result, many students didn’t apply for the government CET and were deprived of admission, said the officials. However, the private colleges, which believe that they have a right to conduct their own admissions,had criticised the government for bringing them under the umbrella of the state CET.