2 min readMar 18, 2026 03:08 PM IST
In a relief for lakhs of students appearing for entrance exams to professional courses in Maharashtra, the state’s Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell will soon establish assistance centres in every district, bringing support services closer to candidates’ homes.
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, each district will have at least one centre staffed with trained personnel to help students resolve queries and grievances locally—eliminating the need to travel to the CET Cell headquarters in Mumbai for assistance.
Larger districts such as Mumbai and Pune, which see a higher volume of CET applicants, will have two centres each to ensure better accessibility. In Mumbai, for instance, centres will be set up in both the city and suburban regions.
The initiative, conceived by Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, seeks to address long-standing concerns about accessibility.
“Although the admission process is entirely online and centrally managed, candidates often require help at multiple stages—from registration to final admission,” a senior official from the department said. “Until now, even minor issues meant visiting the Mumbai office or waiting for telephonic support. District-level centres will significantly reduce this burden.”
According to the CET Cell, at least 40 such assistance centres will be set up across the state’s 36 districts, with additional centres in high-demand regions.
CET Cell Commissioner Dilip Sardesai said the move would be especially beneficial during peak admission periods. “Students are often under stress during CETs and the centralised admission process. Having access to local assistance centres will not only ease that stress but also speed up grievance redressal,” he said.
