13,000 students to benefit from new eligibility criteria for technical courses

At least 13,000 students in the state will benefit from the new relaxed eligibility criteria for admission to technical courses. Last week, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) reduced the Class 12 eligibility criteria from 50% to 45% in the open category and from 45% to 40% in
the reserved category.

The state government issued a resolution to this effect on Tuesday. The eligibility criteria will be applicable for all graduate technical courses - engineering, hotel management and pharmacy.

"About 13,000 students who have good scores in the MH-CET entrance test were not eligible to apply for admissions because of their Class 12 marks. The new criteria will allow them to enter the system," said SK Mahajan, director, Directorate of Technical Education, which is incharge of the admission process.

Students who qualify under the new eligibility criteria can apply between July 6 and July 8. Already 9,000 engineering aspirants and 1,100 pharmacy aspirants who qualify under the new criteria have applied.

Although the provisional merit list for engineering colleges has been put up on the website, students who are eligible as per the new rule will be accommodated in the final merit list.

Officials are expecting another 2,000 aspirants to apply.