Students of both state and private-board schools have pointed out the need to conduct a re-examination to better their scores post the optional Common Entrance Test (CET) for admission to Class 11 First Year Junior College (FYJC).
Students fear they might lose a chance to secure a seat in the stream of studies of their choice in a well-known desired junior college if they score less in CET compared to their Class 10 results.
Comparing the optional CET which will be conducted for the first time for admission to Class 11 on August 21, to other competitive exams, students said there should be a re-examination. Students preparing for CET highlighted competitive exams such as Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main has multiple attempts while, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) Undergraduate (UG) has sufficient time for preparation.
On the other hand, there is less than a month to prepare for optional CET and no provision for a re-examination. Nishant Kanwar, a student said, "On July 19, the Maharashtra state board announced that optional CET will be conducted on August 21. This has given us only a month to prepare unlike other competitive entrance exams. Considering the short span for preparation, there should be a provision for a re-examination."
The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) have not announced any provision for a re-examination. MSBSHSE said, "Students appearing for optional CET will be given first preference for admissions to FYJC, based on their CET scores. After these admissions are completed, the remaining vacant seats in junior colleges will be allotted to students who did not appear for optional CET, based on their Class 10 results."
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Carmel Abraham, a Class 10 Secondary School Certificate (SSC) student said, "I fear I might score less in the optional CET out of nervousness and additional pressure of appearing for a competitive exam for the first time. What if my CET scores are lower compared to marks secured in my Class 10 results? This might lead to the risk of losing admission to a desired junior college of my choice despite scoring good marks in Class 10. How is this fair? We should be given a chance to appear for a re-examination to improve our scores."
Harshul Kamallan, a Class 10 private-board student said, "Considering lockdown restrictions and Covid-19 situation, I am not able to prepare thoroughly for the entrance exam. A re-examination will give us a second chance to better our scores and not miss on the opportunity of securing admission in the college and stream of studies of our choice."
