Symbiosis School principal Leena Choudhary said that MHCET is a burden on Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) students. “The government must concentrate on improving HSC examinations like having a stricter evaluation system or an inclusive syllabus. Discontinuing the entrance exam would then make sense,” she said.

Nandini Charles, principal of Vikhe Patil Memorial School said that scrapping the CET will mean that students will concentrate more on HSC exams. “Students will be evaluated on the basis of their scores in HSC, which they have studied for a year and not on a test for which students prepare only for a couple of months,” she said.

The state government had appointed a committee to look into the possibility of doing away with the CET, which include director of Maharashtra state board for secondary and higher secondary education, director of medical education and research, representative of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences and secretary to the state department for law and judiciary. The panel has been given three months to submit its report.

Hemant Abhyankar, principal, Vishwakarma Institute of Technology who has always opposed CET said that it would be a good decision if the CET was scrapped, as the entrance is not for selecting students, but rejecting them. “Students learn theory and practicals during HSC and it is pointless if this score is not considered for pursuing further studies,” he said.