Maharashtra Government to act after studying HC order to cancel MHT CET 2021

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government will take appropriate action after studying the Bombay High Court order cancelling the Common Entrance Test (CET) for class 11 admissions, state School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad said on Tuesday.

The high court has cancelled the CET observing it was a case of "gross injustice" and would be a threat to the lives of students amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A division bench of Justices R D Dhanuka and R I Chagla also directed the state government to start the admission of students for class 11 by considering their class 10 marks and internal assessments and complete the admission process within six weeks.

“The CET decision was taken to minimise the educational loss of students. Last year, students had suffered an educational loss. We will study the Bombay high court's decision and take action accordingly,” Gaikwad told reporters.

As per a government notification issued in May this year, the CET was to be held physically on August 21 across the state for all class 10 students before admission to the junior college. “The state education department already has a database of some 12 lakh students who are eligible for admission (to class 11). The online admission process is implemented only in major cities like Mumbai and Pune,” the minister said.

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The government's decision on conducting a CET had triggered a controversy as it said the question paper will be based solely on the syllabus of the secondary school certificate (SSC) board. The students of ICSE, CBSE and IGCSE education boards had expressed their displeasure over the CET move.

Speaking on the High Court's decision to cancel the CET, Vilas Parab, a teacher, said, “The decision is disappointing as many schools have given very high internal marks to the students which inflated their overall scorecards. This (cancellation of the CET) may lead to genuine students losing out to secure admission in good colleges”.

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