CET norms for BMS, BBA to be tweaked to fill up vacant seats in Maharashtra

Mumbai: Two years after introducing a CET-based entry process for courses such as BMS, BBA, BCA and integrated MBA, the state govt has decided to modify the norms to address the issue of vacant seats and delays in the process. Students with a valid MHT-CET score in either PCM or PCB will also be eligible to apply from now on. The first preference, though, will be given to candidates who have appeared for the dedicated CET conducted for these courses (with a non-zero score). The remaining seats will be opened to students with PCM and PCB scores only after this pool of candidates is exhausted. MHT-CET scores are currently used only for admissions to engineering, pharmacy and agriculture courses in the state. A govt resolution is likely to be issued in a day or two.After these programmes were brought under the purview of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and classified as ‘professional' courses, an entrance test was introduced for the first time in 2024-25, as per state regulations for professional programmes. Earlier, admissions were based only on Class 12 scores. Additionally, the state conducted the entrance test twice to accommodate students who missed the first attempt. This, however, pushed the process into Oct, by which time most colleges completed their first semester. Fewer students, therefore, were willing to wait, and the delays also disrupted the academic calendar of colleges. Subsequently, for the past two admission cycles, institutions had witnessed a significant number of vacant seats. For the 2026-27 admission cycle, too, about 70,000 candidates have registered for the entrance test for over one lakh seats available in all the courses put together. A govt official said the primary issue is to address the delay. "The two CETs conducted by the govt have been delaying the entire process. It has, therefore, been decided to allow admissions through MHT-CET scores too. However, these will be allowed only after the pool of candidates with a valid score in MAH-BBA/BMS/BCA CET is exhausted. In case of a tie, students with PCM scores will be preferred," said the official. Another official said the decision will also give MHT-CET aspirants another option if they do not land a seat in engineering or pharmacy.Faced with complications related to AICTE-recognised courses, which were earlier regulated by Mumbai University, many city colleges had changed the nomenclature of their once-popular BMS course to BCom (Management Studies). After going through a delay in admissions, some colleges, which earlier went with the AICTE, decided to split their divisions into two: one under the university, with the changed nomenclature as BCom (Management Studies), and the other under AICTE as BMS, to ensure they do not lose out on high-scoring students.
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