Abhyspeeth Education Desk
Mumbai : Engineering admissions in Maharashtra have witnessed a sluggish start this year. Out of the 4.22 lakh students who appeared for the MHT-CET (PCM group) examination, only 22,000 have registered for engineering courses in the first three days of the admission process, according to data released by the CET Cell. The registration process, which began on June 29, will remain open until July 8, 2025.
Parents and students have raised concerns about delays in acquiring required documents such as caste certificates, income proofs, and non-creamy layer certificates. These are usually obtained through SETU centers, but many students have reported not receiving them in time, creating a bottleneck in the registration process. Some parents have also admitted they began collecting documents only after attempting the form, leading to further delays.
Despite the delay, CET Cell officials expect a surge in applications in the coming days as the final date approaches. The admission process timeline has already been released. After registrations close on July 8, the provisional merit list will be declared on July 12, and students will have time from July 13 to 15 to raise any objections or submit corrections. The final merit list will be published on July 17.
This year’s admission cycle has been complicated by several factors. The MHT-CET exam, held from April 19 to 27, faced backlash due to errors in some questions during the final session. As a result, the CET Cell had to conduct a special re-exam on May 5. The result for all candidates was declared on June 16, but despite the early release, the admission process began late due to the state government’s decision to increase the number of engineering seats by over 1.5 lakh. This expansion pushed back the timeline for application and counseling rounds.
Interestingly, although thousands of students have scored in the high percentile brackets, their participation in the state’s engineering admission process is not proportional. Several 100 percentile scorers are reportedly prioritizing national-level institutions like IITs over state colleges due to their performance in JEE exams.
Data also shows that the number of students scoring 90 to 99.99 percentile has increased by 4,471 this year, while those scoring between 70 and 80 percentile have increased by 5,718 compared to the previous cycle. This indicates intense competition ahead, especially in top-tier colleges.
With just a few days left for registration, the CET Cell urges all eligible candidates to complete their documentation and register immediately to be part of the centralized admission rounds. Those missing the deadline will only be eligible for institute-level admissions.
