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Mumbai: Maharashtra will conduct its Common Entrance Tests (CET) between October 1-15, higher and technical education minister Uday Samant announced. The much-delayed entrance exams for various professional courses like management, pharmacy, law, architecture, hotel management and catering technology etc will be conducted in phases during this period.
The exact dates and mode of these exams will be formally announced in a couple of days, Samant stated. About 1.5 lakh students are expected to appear for these exams that have been rescheduled twice earlier from April-May to July to October now.
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Meanwhile, the government that it could go in for staggered exam dates and exam modes in final year examinations to ensure that no student misses appearing for their final year exams.
Samant stated this in the backdrop of floods in Vidarbha region resulting in about 40% of students missing out on their JEE (Mains) examinations held on September 1. Samant said that he had already raised the issue to conduct an additional exam for JEE students with the union government.
Incidentally, the guidelines issued by the union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare (MHFW) for conducting examinations has also recommended staggering of exam dates to prevent crowding at the exam centers. The guidelines have also called for allowing symptomatic students to be allowed to give exams in isolated rooms.
While there is no clarity on the exact mode of conducting final exams for now, it is clear that pen-paper exams are not an option for now.
The state deferred a decision on conducting final year exams following intervention by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, who wanted to confer with all 13 vice-chancellors of non-agricultural universities on September 3. The state disaster management authority will thereafter decide and move the University Grants Commission (UGC), the final authority on higher education exams in the country, to extend the period for conducting exams.
Samant said that the state universities being primarily responsible for the exams should ensure equitable access to exams for all. The state was merely facilitating the process, Samant stated.
