Problems beCET form disbursal

Now, with just two days left to purchase the form, some parents have urged the authorities to at least extend the deadline for its submission beyond April 7. Several working couples point out that they have lost two working days simply procuring a demand draft aspayment by cash is not acceptable.Principal of Bhavan8217;s College, Andheri, D B Kadam, who has received several complaints, told Express Newsline: 8220;I fail to comprehend the need for a Nationality Certificate, for instance, especially when the School Leaving Certificate includes nationality status.8221; Even though parents and students have for the time being been allowed to submit an affidavit affirming the details submitted in lieu of the actual documents, they will have to procure them eventually. Kadam says several parents are pained at the thought of making a trip to their native places to get a Nationality Certificate issued.Others say the CET, which has ironically been introduced to eliminate disparities in evaluation by different higher secondary boards, in fact actively discriminates between certain sections of students.

The inclusion these criteria, unrelated to the performance in the written, competitive test, should therefore find no place in a tool meant to equate students. For instance, additionalmarks and weightage is being assigned to students who have participated in sports activities, in the National Cadet Corps, children of persons who have participated in the Hyderabad and Goa liberation movements and wards of freedom fighters. 8220;This will defeat the very purpose of the CET. They are unheard of in any other competitive examination,8221; says one harried parent.

Also, adds Principal Kadam, students in CBSE-affiliated institutions are being denied the forms by the distribution centres. 8220;I have received complaints form some students in this regard,8221; he says. The authority concerned in Mumbai was, however, unavailable for comment.

And yes, parents wonder, can the state government do something about the extraordinary price for purchase of the form and examination fee, which is pegged at Rs 800. In contrast, they point out, the pre-medical test conducted by the CBSE in New Delhi costs Rs 200, the one conducted by the Armed Force Medical College, Pune, is Rs 120 and even the prestigious All IndiaInstitute for Medical Science, New Delhi, charges only Rs 350. 8220;How many lower-middle class families can hope for their children to become doctors, given the astronomical cost,8221; one parent asks.