Despite NEET, Maha entrance test sees only 6% drop in applications

The number of students registering for the state-conducted common entrance test for engineering and pharmacy (MH-CET) has reduced by a mere 6%, despite the fact that the test no longer serves as gateway to health science courses.

As the registration process for CET came to an end on Thursday, around 3.84 lakh aspirants enrolled for the test, compared to 4.09 lakh last year. However, the latter figure includes thousands of health science aspirants who are now required to take National Eligibility-cum-entrance Test (NEET) for admissions.

Data from state’s Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) reveals that physics-chemistrymathematics (PCM) group of CET, which holds the key for engineering and pharmacy courses, saw 1.43 lakh registrations this year, up from 1.26 registrations last year.

On the other hand, 94,000 students opted for physics-chemistry-biology (PCB), which opens the path for pharmacy, down from 1.41 lakh registrations in 2016.

Till last year, PCB combination was for BOTH pharmacy and health science courses. This year, it’s just for pharmacy. Compared to 1.47 lakh applicants in 2016 and 1.42 lakh in 2015, there was a little change in the number of students opting for the above two options, known as PCMB group.

According to experts, the continued popularity of CET suggests that students, by and large, rely on the state entrance test to get into a professional institute . “Many students appearing for NEET also register for CET for more options,” said Subhash Joshi of Science Parivar, a coaching institute in Borivli.

Dayanand Meshram, joint director, DTE, said, “This year, we conducted district-level workshops for principals. It ensured more aspirants,” he said.