ACTING on the complaints received regarding admissions in engineering colleges, the Maharashtra State Common Entrance Test (CET ) Cell has asked the Directorate of Technical Education to send observers to ensure transperency. This is the first time that such observers have been appointed. The observers have been appointed in Pune, Kolhapur and Nagpur. According to sources, in Pune alone, a whopping 59 colleges are found to have flouted the rule. A senior official while talking to ‘The Hitavada’ said, “As per rule 13, the admissions should be done in a transparent manner. CET Cell received a complaint, and accordingly, it swung into action.

 

It asked DTE to appoint observers and send them to Pune, Kolhapur and Nagpur”. According to CET Cell, the number of colleges which have flouted the rule is higher in Pune. CET Cell identified the colleges which have not done admissions as per rule and provided the list to DTE. It has asked the DTE to send observers. These observers will visit the colleges listed and check their admissions. They are supposed to submit the report initially to the Joint Directors, who will subsequently hand it over to the Director. According to an official, the colleges have to do admissions without exceeding the official intake. They are expected to upload every single development regarding admissions on the website of CET Cell. They have taken good care while doing admissions of the institute-level quota. Now observers will check the details of the admissions.

 

They will try to match the number of admissions done and the number uploaded on the website. The complaints that the CET Cell received pointed out that large-scale financial irregularities have occurred in rounds of admissions, because of which meritorious students faced injustice. For institute-level admissions, according to the CET website, institutes are supposed to display vacant seats on the institute website and give appropriate advertisements in the newspapers, invite applications from registered candidates, and prepare and display a merit list on the college website. Rule 13 of the Information Brochure says, ‘Admissions in Institutional Quota and vacant seats after CAP’. These rules include a transparent manner of admissions strictly on a merit basis.