– Ronita Torcato 

For a student in a remote village or a small town, navigating the labyrinth of higher education admissions could feel like trying to crack a complex code. The resources are often unreachable. Long tiring bus rides to major cities, hours spent waiting in queues just to clarify a document requirement, and the constant anxiety of missing a crucial deadline — this has been the reality for many students across Maharashtra. But a shift is currently underway.

Higher and technical education minister Chandrakantdada Patil has announced a welcome initiative to help students: the establishment of a CET Cell Student Support Centre in every single district of the state.

The announcement was made following a meeting yesterday chaired by Patil with top education officials in the state.

A review of CET Student Support Centers in all districts was taken up in the meeting. A total of 40 CET Student Assistance Centers have been distributed across the state’s 36 districts to ensure maximum coverage. Of these, 26 commence operations today; 6 are in the final stages; 8 will commence operations soon, according to Patil.

Mumbai has been allocated three centres, Pune and Nagpur two each, other districts will have 33 Centres. They will coordinate and communicate between educational institutions in the district, examination centres operating under the education department, and the State Common Entrance Examination.

The general consensus at the meeting was: No student should be denied an education—or a fair shot at the admission process—simply because of their geography.

“These centres have been implemented so that students from rural and remote areas do not have to go to big cities repeatedly for work related to the admission process,” Patil said. “They should have access to detailed information about the admission process, information about various scholarship schemes, and necessary guidance in their own district.”

Accordingly, the centres will do more than merely provide information, he said; they are designed to be full-service lifelines for students navigating the Common Entrance Test (CET) and the Centralized Admission Process (CAP).

Each centre will feature a dedicated front desk to provide direct assistance with filling out application forms, uploading documents, fixing photo/signature errors, navigating payment gateways, and retrieving hall tickets.

Experts will guide students in choosing the right courses, degrees, and institutions based on their interests and qualifications. Furthermore, students will be offered counselling, academic advice, and insights into internships and employment opportunities.

Many students qualify for financial aid but miss out due to a lack of awareness. The centres will provide detailed information regarding various government scholarship schemes, eligibility criteria, and deadlines to ensure no student drops out due to financial constraints.

The minister also promised that the centres will act as direct nodes to resolve doubts, address complaints, and settle pending issues on the spot.

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