Mumbai: The state govt is considering giving weightage to Class 12 marks in engineering and pharmacy admissions following a series of allegations over discrepancies between students’ Class 12 and CET scores.
the IITs and NITs require candidates to score a minimum of 75% in class XII or rank among the top 20 percentile of their respective boards While NEET-UG requires students to secure at least 50% aggregate marks in PCB subjects in Class 12 to be eligible. In 2022, the then education minister Uday Samant had announced a 50-50% weightage to Class 12 and entrance test scores.
An official from the cell said they had pointed out to the department that the current criteria used to draw the merit list leave scope for suspicion among students and parents, despite there being no anomaly in the results. “Taking these concerns into account, we have requested the department to constitute a panel to review the criteria for preparing the merit list and work out an appropriate formula for giving due weightage to Class 12 marks,” the official said. In a letter to the higher and technical education department, the state’s CET Cell has urged the govt to constitute an expert panel to review the eligibility criteria for the admissions based on MHT-CET scores. The state govt, however, has no such eligibility requirement. A committee was constituted to examine the issue, but no decision was taken following a change in govt.
“We have also asked the department to formulate a policy at the earliest so that students are informed well in advance. A department official told TOI that a committee will be constituted in the next few days and they will be given a mandate of 15 days to submit a report, so that a policy is drawn for the academic session 2027-28.
“Students need to be informed so that they direct their preparation accordingly,” said the official. Some of the state university vice-chancellors have already been briefed about the need for the policy, he added.
Opposition Raises Concerns Over Engineering Admission Merit Lists
Questions regarding the integrity of merit lists for engineering admissions have resurfaced, with the opposition voicing concerns over discrepancies noted in previous years. Allegations have emerged that students scoring between 40-50% in their Class 12 board exams achieved unusually high percentiles in the MHT-CET, the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test. This issue has been a point of contention for the past two to three years, gaining renewed attention this year as critics demand transparency and accountability in the admissions process.