The Maharashtra government has decided to conduct the Common Entrance Test (CET) twice a year for engineering, pharmacy, and MBA programmes starting from the 2026–27 academic year. It will reduce academic stress and allow students another chance to improve their scores. This change brings the state’s entrance test system closer to the format of the national Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).
The announcement was made on Tuesday, November 11, by Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Dada Patil after a review meeting with senior officials. The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary B. Venugopal Reddy, CET Cell Commissioner Dilip Sardesai, Director of Higher Education Shailendra Devlankar, and Director of Technical Education Vinod Mohitkar.
As per reports, CET exams for PCM (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics), PCB (Physics, Chemistry, Biology), and MBA programmes will now be held in two sessions every year. The first session will take place in April 2026 and the second in May 2026.
A detailed schedule will be released soon. Students can appear for either one or both sessions, and their best score will be used for admission. Starting in 2027, there will be a six-month gap between the two sessions to give students more time to prepare. The new system is expected to benefit over six lakh students across the state every year.
To support the new format, the government plans to set up 20,000 computer-based test systems across Maharashtra. At present, the CET Cell depends on private facilities with only around 7,000 computers available for online exams. The new systems will be installed in state-run engineering colleges and university campuses with high-speed internet.
The government will also create around 40 district-level CET support centres to assist students with exams and admissions. These centres will handle complaints locally, reducing the need for students to visit the CET Cell office in Mumbai. As per reports, each district will have one fully functional support centre.
The CET Cell, which was formed in 2015 after a Supreme Court order, will also get permanent staff for the first time. Until now, staff were either on contract or assigned from other departments. The Directorate of Technical Education has been asked to recruit full-time staff to improve operations.