To raise awareness about the higher education avenues that the students can tap into, officials from the Maharashtra State Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell have begun hosting seminars in various districts across the state. Over the past week, CET Cell officials have spoken to students from Nandurbar and Dhule, while they are set to converse with students from Akola and Nanded this week.
“We have selected the districts as per past registration data,” said Dileep B Sardesai, CET Cell commissioner. “Over the years we have noticed that the number of registrations largely comes in from cities like Pune. Through this activity, we hope to reach out to students from other districts to increase their awareness about the entrance test and wthe kind of courses one can enrol in after the exam,” he added.
The officials are also raising awareness about the agricultural courses the students can opt for after college. These seminars are also covering the bases in terms of registration processes. As per officials from the cell, another phase of this outreach may come into action after receiving feedback from students.
Students from Dhule, where a seminar was conducted this Sunday, spoke to mid-day
Vaishnavi Shinde, 17
“We were taught about Aadhaar, DigiLocker, APAAR ID, and the documents one needs before registration and admission. With the Std XII board exams ahead of me, I am focused on those at the moment, but I am inclined towards nursing. I have already enrolled in coaching classes and intended to appear for the test even before the seminar. The talk, however, helped me with a bit more clarity.”
Mrunmayee Bapat, 17
“I only knew about MHCET before the seminar and didn’t know that there were more exams I could take even after graduation. I already knew that this year, students will be able to take two attempts, so I hope to take a PCM (physics, chemistry, mathematics) and a PCB (physics, chemistry, biology) exam. I have been preparing for these tests with the help of a few YouTube videos.”
Purushottam Bondare, 18
“I am already doing an engineering diploma, but I attended the seminar with my younger sister to make more mindful choices. She is to opt for nursing, but we now understand that we can take more exams out of the PCM/PCB realm.”
