CET forms have 92 errors

Mumbai, March 26: The Maharashtra Health Sciences University has left parents of Higher Secondary Certificate students seeking admission ...

Mumbai, March 26: The Maharashtra Health Sciences University has left parents of Higher Secondary Certificate students seeking admission to medical courses sick and tired. Besides being the most expensive of its kind, the application form for the Common Entrance Test, to be administered by the Nashik-based university, comes with three pages of errata! It has also made parents scamper around for various documents which are not available at short notice. Moreover, the university made no mention of these documents when it advertised for the CET in national newspapers in February. Now, with the April 7 deadline for submission of the forms fast approaching, parents are wondering how they will full all the requirements.

Stapled to the 108-page application form are three pages which list a phenomenal 92 errors in the details sought from students, whose admission to the MBBS course hinges entirely on their qualifying for the CET. But here8217;s the clincher 8211; the form still registers another 25 errors and loopholes.Forinstance, it does not bear any space for applicants to include the name of their buildings which is a requirement in the address. And the space for the pin code has five instead of seven boxes. Parents also say the centres meant to distribute the form as listed in the media advertisement stock a maximum 50 per day.

More worrying is the demand for documents pertaining to nationality, caste, non-creamy layer and the National Cadet Corps. Says a parent: 8220;Forms are available between March 10 and 31. After purchasing a form at the earliest, I headed for the Kurla court to collect a Nationality Certificate. But I was told to return on April 8, whereas the last date for submission of the form is April 7.8221;

Similarly, caste certificates and caste validity certificates are both available only with the Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee of the Directorate of Social Welfare. Usually, these are issued to students who require them only prior to the HSC examination results. 8220;Why can8217;t the authorities concernedthemselves check the students8217; credentials rather than make parents run from pillar to post? This is typical of how the government functions,8221; one parent retorted.

Now, affidavits are acceptable

Dr R S Inamdar, in charge of the CET admission cell, Mumbai, has now conceded to allow students to include all the details sought in a proforma available with the distribution centres, accompanied with an affidavit certifying the authenticity of the details contained in the CET form. This followed a representation from about 20 parents, who met Inamdar today.

This means that the various documents sought along with the CET form can now be submitted later, during the counselling session, another mandatory requirement for admission. The CET itself will be held on May 23, 1999.