State to reopen answer key access for MHT-CET

Mumbai: In a bid to enhance transparency and address student concerns, the State Common Entrance Test (CET) cell has announced the reopening of access to the answer key and model answer sheets on June 27 for a two-day period. This decision was confirmed by the CET cell commissioner Dilip Sardesai, who said the exact dates and timings would be notified on the official CET cell website.

The move will enable students to compare their own answer sheet with the final answer key published by the CET cell. It was announced a day after Shiv Sena leader and member of legislative assembly Aaditya Thackeray criticised the state government regarding discrepancies in the MH-CET results and demanded a temporary stay on the admission process till the issue is resolved to the satisfaction of all stakeholders.

On Saturday, Thackeray met governor Ramesh Bais and sought his intervention in the matter. “We have requested the governor to ask the CET cell to release the answer sheets of students, declare marks of the students over and above their percentiles, and hold the paper setters accountable for 54 mistakes in questions,” Thackeray posted on social media platform X after meeting Bais along with other Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders.

Meanwhile, Sardesai along with the director of higher education Shailendra Devlankar, and the director of technical education Vinod Mohitkar addressed a conference at the Mantralaya on Saturday. Seeking to allay concerns of students and parents, Sardesai said, “The results for the MH-CET 2024 will be declared in batches to ensure equal opportunities for all students across different sessions. This examination system, implemented since 2018-19, aims to provide a fair and transparent assessment process.”

Sardesai emphasised that Maharashtra was the first state to computerise and centralise the admission process for professional courses, a method later adopted by the central government. He said the system was designed to be completely transparent and free from human intervention and urged students and parents not to believe in rumours.

“The examination process does not include negative marking for incorrect answers, and results are declared using the percentile method, ensuring no grace marks are awarded,” said Sardesai.

He clarified that candidates with the same raw score in a session receive the same percentile, while those with the same score in different sessions received different percentiles. “Objections that students did not receive marks as per the provided answer sheets were found to be unfounded,” he said.

The procedure for registering objections was made available on the CET cell website prior to the April 2024 exam. Till date, the CET cell has addressed nearly 200 representations from parents and candidates, resolving each complaint individually, said Sardesai. Refunds for accepted objections had been processed online for 54 candidates, he added.

CET Cell to take strict action against false information on social media

Sardesai said the CET cell was prepared to take strict action against individuals who spread false information or unverified content about the exam and its results on social media. With numerous videos and posts about the CET exam results going viral, the commissioner emphasised that those responsible for posting such content would face legal consequences, including complaints to the cyber cell.