‘Admission to BBA, BCA streams will require an entrance test in Maharashtra,’ says CET Cell Commissioner

What can you tell about CET for BBA and BCA?

We’ve been informed by the state government that from the academic year 2024-25, we are to conduct an entrance test to qualify for admission to BCA and BBA courses. A format for the registration process and other details are under preparation, following which we will declare the schedule shortly. These two are the latest addition to the list of total 18 CETs conducted by Maharashtra CET Cell for admission to 38 courses, along with centralised Common Admission Process (CAP) for 36 courses in the state.

From this year, we will also conduct CET and CAP for Auxiliary Nursing and Midwifery (ANM) and General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM).

Students and parents have repeatedly complained of over tech glitches and faraway exam centres. What is CET Cell’s plan towards this?

We do whatever is needed to conduct the CET and CAP in a candidate-friendly manner. Similarly, the work of the technical service provider empanelled by CET Cell to conduct CET and CAP is strictly monitored, wherein corrective action to resolve glitches is taken immediately. This time care has been taken to provide centres near residence. The CET Cell has established 3,600 new nodes in 26 Test Centres/Lab in far-flung districts of Maharashtra with the help of Directorates of Technical and Higher Education Departments this year, in addition to existing centres. This will minimise incidences of students getting allotted faraway exam centers.

Any new measures to make the process more efficient/convenient?

All CETs will have an Objection Tracker System from this year, which was limited to only a couple of CETs so far. Now, candidates can access answers to all questions asked in CET through their login allowing them to raise doubts if any, by paying a reasonable fee.

From this year, we are introducing a new concept of ‘Single-Sign-in-Account’, whereby a candidate can register on the CET website once and apply for multiple courses without re-entering the entire data. Various CET and CAP related tasks such as downloading the admit card, raising objections, downloading score-card, apply for CAP, raising grievances with admission regulatory authority (ARA) will now be possible through this single sign-in account. A candidate can access the same information to apply for admission in next year too.

We are also starting a helpdesk ticketing system to ensure that no query is left unattended by tracking queries raised by candidates. Grievances will also be monitored via helplines on phone and email.

Do you see any shift in popularity trends in professional courses?

While engineering and MBA continue to remain popular, this year we are seeing a phenomenal increase in the number of candidates registering for the two. This year 7,25,032 have registered for MHT-CET, a significant jump of 88,228 more registration from last year. For MBA-CET, a total of 1,52,911 candidates have registered this year as opposed to 1,30,627 registrations last year. Additionally, the nursing course is a new entry on the popularity curve with a jump of 10,000 more candidates registering for BSc Nursing, ANM and GNM courses. Interestingly, the number of male students opting for BSc nursing is also increasing.

Guidelines in the state’s transgender policy will make college campuses more inclusive for transgenders. Is there any reflection of this in admissions?

This year transgender candidates will be treated as ‘reserved-category’ aspirants regarding exam fees of CETs. Until now, 49 transgender candidates have registered for various CETs with the highest, at 26, opting for the MHT-CET exam.

What’s the process for foreigners seeking admission to professional courses in the state?

Beginning last year, we have had a dedicated portal for NRI, PIO/OCI, CIWGC students, which helps them connect to universities/ colleges for admission through CAP. This year, till date 68 foreign candidates have registered here, mostly for technical courses.