CET a thing of past soon?

LUDHIANA: Engineering aspirants might not have to prepare for the Common Entrance Test (CET) conducted by Punjab Technical University (PTU) from the academic session of 2011. Though the proposal is hanging fire from the past one year, the varsity authorities are reportedly determined to make sure that a final decision is taken by July.
According to information, though the PTU board members gave their consent to scrap the test from 2010 in September 2009, AIEEE had announced the dates for 2010 exam by then.
PTU vice-chancellor Rajneesh Arora said, “The board of Punjab Technical University has passed the proposal and the ball is in the court of technical education department now. We are expecting their consent by July. If the picture fails to become clear by then, I will once again highlight the matter and see to it that a final decision is taken by September.”
“I believe that there is no need to have separate state exam and follow the pattern as prevalent in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Though the board decided in September 2009 to scrap CET from this year, AIEEE had declared its dates and started the procedure,” he added.
Meanwhile, students are keeping their fingers crossed as the implementation of this decision would not only lessen the stress level but also cut down the burden on parents’ pocket. An aspiring engineer, Chetan Arora, said, “The parents of children, who are appearing or have passed Class XII exam in science stream, have to shell out huge amount of money on coaching classes and thousands on prospectus and admission forms of professional courses.”
“Guardians do not want to leave any stone unturned to ensure their wards realize their aims. But many intelligent candidates, who belong to economically disadvantaged groups in the society, cannot avail such opportunities,” he added.
Expressing similar opinion, Nitin, another Class XII student said, “Preparing to the best of capabilities is one aspect and this extra financial burden is another. The cost of prospectus and forms are compelling many youths to think twice before opting for this test.”
The president of NGO, Public Cause, A K Bhandari, who has been pursuing the case, said, “We are involved since 2005. The admission statistics of 2003-04 and 2004-05 rankled us as though almost 1/3 seats remained vacant after CET each year, PTU continued increasing the number of seats. It is actually exploitation on the part of varsity officials as aspirants pay money for completion of the entire admission procedure. Scrapping the exam is the only solution. We are happy that the administration is now serious on the issue.”
Over the years
Year Total seats Filled Vacant
2003-04 9000 7000 2000
2004-05 15120 12000 3000
2005-06 13400 9000 4400
2006-07 11800 7941 3009
2007-08 14330 8330 6000
2008-09 26000 16500 9500