MHT CET Entrance Exams May Get Costlier As State Cell Mulls Increase In Application Fees

Registration for the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (MHT CET) may become more expensive. The State Cell has proposed increasing the examination fees for all major higher-education admissions. It suggests

raising the registration fee by Rs 150 to Rs 250, depending on the exam. Presently, candidates pay an application fee ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000, based on whether the test is conducted in paper or CBT mode.

This proposal is currently awaiting approval from the Higher and Technical Education Department.

The fee for pen-and-paper exams currently ranges from Rs 500 to Rs 600, while the fee for CBT-based exams ranges from Rs 800 to Rs 1,000.

“We don’t want to overburden students. Therefore, this fee hike is proposed to be a maximum of Rs 250,” the official said, adding that a final decision will be made after detailed discussions with all officials reported News18 Hindi.

The Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell conducts 19 entrance exams for 72 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, including engineering, pharmacy, nursing, hotel management, and teaching.

Last year, over 1.4 million students appeared for the entrance exams conducted by the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell. This number is expected to exceed 1.5 million next year. A senior education department official noted that planning and conducting CETs require strict coordination and smooth execution.

The Maharashtra State Common Entrance Test (MHT CET) Cell has released the tentative schedule for all CET exams for the 2026 admission session. This is the first time, MHT CET and MBA CET will be conducted twice a year. This will give students two opportunities a year, similar to JEE Main, to improve their scores and gain admission to a good college.

According to the official schedule, the Maharashtra CET 2026 exams will begin on March 24, 2026, and will continue until May 8, 2026. This will be followed by the second session exams for MHT CET and MBA CET in May.