Mumbai: Considering complaints of network connectivity issues and travel restrictions in certain districts of the state, the Maharashtra common entrance test (CET) cell has dropped late fee charges for those who are yet to complete registration for the upcoming entrance exams. Students seeking admission in undergraduate (UG) professional courses including engineering/technology, pharmacy and agricultural education had time till Thursday to complete the registration process, which has now been extended till July 15.

“The registration window was supposed to be open till July 15, but starting tomorrow (July 9), there would have been a late fee charged for every application. Since some students mentioned they have not managed to get the necessary documents attested either due to strict lockdown in their districts or other problems, we are waiving the late fee till July 15,” said a senior official from the state CET cell. He clarified that there will be no further extension given on this deadline.

Many students had approached the state CET cell in the past one week seeking an extension of the registration deadline. “Since the CET cell has not yet clarified eligibility for the entrance exam, more students are opting for registrations, causing the website to the crash regularly. We have been facing network trouble in our locality, so we needed an extension,” said Karan Rahane, a Palghar resident. While the state education department only recently gave clarity on Class 12 results, CET cell started registrations for entrance exams on June 8.

“Maharashtra CET entrance exams for admission to professional courses including engineering/technology, pharmacy and agricultural education for the 2021-22 academic year will be held across various centres in Mumbai and across Maharashtra,” stated the circular signed by CET cell commissioner CD Joshi. “The online registration schedule and information brochure for the examination has been made available on the official website, https://mhtcet2021.mahacet.org. Payment for the exams will only be accepted in the online mode,” the circular added.

Last month, both the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council of Indian Secondary Certificate Examinations (CISCE) announced their decision to scrap their respective Class 12 exams keeping in mind the ongoing pandemic and instead promote students based on a 30:30:40 formula, giving 30% weightage each to Class 10 and 11 results and 40% weightage to students’ performance in Class 12. This same formula has now been implemented by the Maharashtra state board and the results are expected by month-end.