Pharma students want CET over GATE

Mumbai: Medical students staged a stern protest outside the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) office here and demanded that private colleges should admit students on the basis of marks scored in the government Common Entrance Test (CET).

Students, under the banner of 'Forum against Commercialization of Education' (FACE) said that they are totally against the multiple entrance tests which are conducted in the state.

Vivek Korde, FACE President, said "Since the last two years, all pharmacy colleges are conducting their own entrance tests and are admitting students on the basis of these results."

A total of 36 private colleges are operating in Maharashtra which offer 909 seats in Master's in Pharmacy courses. For two years now, all pharmacy students have been appearing for the all-India Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) along with the state-conducted CET in association with the Private Pharmacy colleges.

Many students also appear for other tests held at deemed universities like Narsee Monjee and government-aided colleges including the National Institute of Pharmacy Education and Research.

According to Surjit Kakade, a student from NDMVP, Nashik, "We don't want to appear for multiple entrances; colleges should admit students on the basis of GATE