Latest news with #ChandrakantPatil
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
2nd CET for BBA, BMS, BCA may delay academic calender
Mumbai: With state govt conducting one more common entrance test (CET) for BBA, BMS, and BCA, admissions to these AICTE-run courses are likely to impact the academic calendar in degree colleges. The delayed process will leave vacant seats in other courses in several colleges, as students from traditional courses such as BCom, BA, or BSc may want to shift to these professional courses if they secure seats. After higher education minister Chandrakant Patil announced the conduct of a second phase of CET for BMS, BBA, and BCA last week, the state's CET cell issued a circular notifying students. However, it is yet to call for applications. Following the registration process, the cell will conduct the CET, announce results, and then start the centralised admission process (CAP), which will delay admissions even for students who took the CET in the first phase. Last year, too, admissions were delayed as the CET was conducted in two phases. A principal pointed out that last year, the lectures in these courses eventually started in Oct. "We engaged our teachers and students during Oct, Dec, and May vacations to compensate for the loss of days," he said. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Walgreens Keeps Quiet About This '9 Pills for $7' Generic Cialis Deal Friday Plans Get Offer Undo Another principal said that, like last year, delayed admissions in BMS will have an impact on other programmes too. "After getting a seat in BMS through CAP, students will cancel admissions in BCom or other programmes. If this happens in Aug or Sept, those seats go vacant, and we are unable to fill them as other students may have already attended lectures for over two months," said the principal. A suburban college principal said this was the second year for the state's CET after these courses came under AICTE purview. "If govt does not streamline the process, some colleges may decide to withdraw from AICTE regulations and change the nomenclature to BCom (Management Studies) or BCom (Business Administration) and remain under the regulations of the parent university. The colleges, which changed nomenclature, have already filled their seats in the first three rounds of admissions," she said. — Yogita Rao
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Maharashtra's CAP admission process now has four rounds, new rules announced
In an overhaul of the centralised admission process (CAP) for professional courses, the Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Department has announced that the number of CAP rounds will be increased from three to four starting from the upcoming academic session. The changes come ahead of the announcement of the common entrance test (CET) results, conducted by the state's CET cell for admissions to degree programs. Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil confirmed the development, stating that a formal government resolution (GR) will be issued soon. 'These reforms are similar to the changes made in the polytechnic admission process and are aimed at making the system more efficient and student-friendly,' Patil said. This decision is intended to improve flexibility and transparency in the admission process. The department has clarified that the revised rules will be implemented during the upcoming academic session. A highlight of the new structure is the auto-freezing of seats. If a candidate is allotted a college listed among their first three preferences in the second round or among the top six in the third round, the seat will be automatically frozen. Once frozen, the student must take admission to that institution and cannot participate in further rounds. Candidates will also have the chance to modify their preferences before each of the second, third, and fourth CAP rounds. This ensures that students are provided with flexibility while also maintaining fairness in seat allocation. The new policy also brings more transparency and merit-based selection into the management quota admissions. For the first time, colleges will be required to announce complete details of the available management quota seats on the official website. In terms of fees, institutions will be permitted to charge up to three times the regular tuition fee for management quota seats. For NRI quota seats, the fee can be as high as five times the standard rate. NRI candidates must submit a certificate from the income tax department, and their admission will be governed by the Foster Parent Act. The new rules also define a clear process for admission cancellations. Students wishing to cancel their admission must submit a request online. Once cancelled, the student forfeits any claim to that seat, which will then be made available in subsequent rounds. If the cancellation is completed before the specified deadline, a refund will be issued after deducting ₹1,000 from the total fee. No refunds will be granted for cancellations made after the deadline. Colleges are required to publish the list of eligible candidates, the merit list, and a detailed admission schedule on their official websites. Commenting on the reforms, Patil said, 'These changes are in line with those implemented in the polytechnic admission process and are aimed at enhancing efficiency and making the system more student-friendly.'
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Chandrakant Patil directs educational authorities to conduct 2nd CET to address student concerns
Maharashtra higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil on Friday directed education authorities to conduct a second Common Entrance Test (CET) to address concerns over low student turnout and stringent admission criteria that have discouraged applicants from enrolling in undergraduate programmes for the academic year 2025-26. Patil held a meeting in this regard attended by medical education minister Hasan Mushrif and representatives of Shivaji University Development Front and college principals' associations to assess the impact of rigid conditions placed on the admission process for BBA and BCA courses. It was pointed out that many students had missed the first CET and were at the risk of losing out on admissions entirely. In light of these issues, Patil instructed the Directorate of Higher and Technical Education to organise a second CET to ensure that no eligible students are denied the opportunity to apply. A formal notification for the second CET is expected to be issued in the next two days. Addressing broader structural concerns, Patil assured the attendees that the state government would recommend to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) a reduction in affiliation fees and security deposits required for these programmes. These financial burdens, according to many college representatives, are creating barriers to entry for both students and institutions. 'Our aim is to ensure that no student loses a chance at higher education due to technicalities or financial obstacles. We have taken serious note of the issues raised about the BBA and BCA admission process. Therefore, I have instructed officials to conduct another round of CET so that all willing students can apply. Furthermore, we will be recommending to the AICTE that the affiliation fees and caution deposit norms be relaxed to make education more accessible and affordable,' said Patil. Among those present at the meeting were Shivaji University Development Front vice-president Bhaiyya Mane, principal D R More, advocate Dhairyashil Patil, principal Dr V M Patil, higher education secretary Venugopal Reddy, director Shailendra Deolankar, technical education director Vinod Mohitkar, and joint director Prakash Bachhav. Their collective appeal underscored the urgent need for reforms to support aspiring students across Maharashtra. Prajakta Jadhav, an aspiring student from Pune, said, 'I had planned to pursue a BCA degree this year, but I missed the earlier CET because the schedule was unclear and I couldn't gather all the required documents in time due to financial issues. The strict conditions and lack of proper communication left many of us feeling helpless. I was really worried I would lose an entire academic year. Now that the government has announced a second CET, it feels like a second chance. I hope they also reduce the fees and make the process easier, especially for students like me from rural and economically weaker backgrounds.'
News18
2 days ago
- Politics
- News18
4 Toppers, 1 Centre: Patna CET Row Prompts Maharashtra To Ban Out-Of-State Exam Centres
Last Updated: The Maharashtra government will restrict all Common Entrance Tests (CET) for professional courses to within the state from next academic year due to irregularities at Patna centre In a significant policy shift, the Maharashtra government has decided to restrict all Common Entrance Tests (CET) for professional courses to examination centres within the state, starting next academic year. With this, students from outside Maharashtra taking the CET for a course offered by an institution will have to travel to an examination centre in the state. 'To maintain transparency and prevent malpractices in the CET, the state government has decided to restrict examination centres within Maharashtra from next year," the Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil said on Thursday. This move comes amid rising concerns over alleged irregularities at certain centres outside Maharashtra, particularly one in Patna, Bihar, which produced an unusual cluster of top scorers in the CET for the five-year LLB course. The controversy erupted after four students – Vishesh Kumar Pathak, Himanshu Jaiswal, Prakhar Jyoti, and Sanskriti Saundarya – emerged as toppers with a perfect 100 percentile in the Maharashtra LLB CET. All four had appeared from the same test centre, Maha Infotech, located in Patna. The exam was conducted on April 28 in two shifts, and although the four candidates took the test in different sessions, they shared the same location, raising immediate suspicions about the integrity of the process. Officials confirmed that only one examination centre had been set up in Bihar this year, due to around 25 students applying from the state. In total, 18 exam centres were established outside Maharashtra, but the state government has now decided to eliminate all such centres following the Patna incident. The suspicious activity of the Patna centre will be investigated, Patil told the media, adding that strict action will be taken to prevent such incidents in the future. 'Such incidents raise serious doubts and undermine the credibility of the examination process. But by conducting the CET only in Maharashtra, we can ensure better monitoring and reduce the risk of organised malpractices," PTI quoted Patil as saying. The decision aims to bolster credibility and monitoring of the CET, which is a gateway for admissions to various undergraduate and postgraduate professional courses including law, engineering, management, and more. The issue gained further gravity as it unfolds alongside an ongoing investigation into a broader CET-related scam. Earlier in March, the Mumbai Crime Branch arrested three brokers from Delhi in connection with an MBA-CET admission racket. The accused reportedly collected between Rs 11 to Rs 20 lakh from aspirants in exchange for artificially inflated scores and advised them to choose remote centres in Maharashtra districts like Bhandara, Gondia, Yavatmal, and Jalna – areas allegedly under lower scrutiny. The case involving the four Patna students is now under investigation by the Maharashtra CID. While no direct evidence of malpractice has been made public, officials say the clustering of perfect scores at a single out-of-state centre cannot be overlooked. Each year, over 10 lakh students appear for various CETs across Maharashtra, with more than 25,000 candidates previously opting for centres outside the state. However, this option will no longer be available, even to out-of-state applicants. 'The new move would not only help maintain fairness but also enhance the integrity of the admission process," Patil told PTI. He also addressed concerns over low participation in CETs for professional undergraduate courses like BBA, BCA, BMS, and BBM. Of more than 2,00,000 available seats, only 61,666 students appeared for the exam this year. 'Since many seats are likely to remain vacant, students will be given another opportunity to take the CET," he said.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
No CET outside Maharashtra: Minister
MUMBAI: MUMBAI: From next year, students from outside Maharashtra taking the Common Entrance Test (CET) for any course offered by an institution in the state will have to travel to an examination centre in the state. The CET is essential for admission to professional courses such as engineering, pharmacy, law etc. Addressing the media on Thursday, higher and technical education minister, Chandrakant Patil, said this decision was taken to prevent malpractices in the exam. Citing an example, he noted the results of the five-year law entrance exam, announced on Wednesday night. They revealed that four students from a single exam centre in Patna secured 100 percentile. Three of the students had taken the exam in the morning session on April 28 and the fourth in the second session. The examination centre will now be investigated for suspected irregularities. 'The investigation will be handed over to the Crime Investigation Department (CID),' said Patil. The admission process for various courses is implemented through more than 16 entrance exams in coordination with the Admission Regulatory Authority (ARA) and the CET Cell. Every year, more than 1 million students take the CET for admission to various courses, of which more than 25,000 students take the exam at centres outside the state. The Mumbai Crime Branch had taken action in March last year against an admission racket that was extracting money from students by tempting them to raise their percentile in the CET exam conducted for admission to various courses. The police had arrested three people from Delhi. Against this backdrop, the state higher and technical education department has decided to close examination centres outside the state from next year.
