State to conduct CET for MBA, MMS again 2014

State to conduct CET for MBA, MMS again 2014

The Maharashtra government will conduct its own common entrance test (CET) for MBA/MMS admissions from the next academic year.

    While this year, admissions to these courses were done only on basis of the scores in the common management admission test (CMAT) conducted by the All India Council of Technical Education, the state will revert to the

earlier system. The decision has been taken after Maharashtra saw a 50% drop in the number of MBA aspirants this year.

    From the academic year 2014-15, 65% seats under the state quota will be filled using the scores in the MH-CET for MBA/MMS. The state recently passed the order after an association of management colleges made an appeal to revoke the policy, claiming that awareness about the nationallevel CMAT exam was low among students. “The entire process for CMAT is done online. Students in rural areas are hesitant about the online process and exams. There has been a dip in the number of applicants this year and therefore, the number of vacancies in colleges has risen,” said a director of a management college. This year, around 20,000 students had applied for MBA/MSS courses in the state—less than half of last year’s 42,490 applicants.

    Dayanand Meshram, joint director, said, “While 20% seats will be with the management, the 15% all-India quota seats can be filled by colleges using scores of CMAT, CAT, XAT, MAT or any other national-level MBA entrance exams.” While this year, the directorate of technical education did not conduct group discussions and personal interviews, officials are yet to take a decision on the admission process for next year.