Odisha CPET for admission to master's degree courses to begin on Oct 12

The maiden Common Post-

Graduation Admission Entrance Test (CPET) for admission to master's degree courses in colleges and universities in Odisha will begin on October 12, the state Higher Education Department announced on Friday.

The examination will continue till October 22 with strict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines, said Higher Education Secretary Saswat Mishra.

The admission will be held in 83 streams this academic session, he said.

The common entrance test will help alleviate the hardship of students, particularly of those residing in remote areas, Mishra said.

Sixty-eight colleges and state-run universities, having post-graduate courses, will admit students through the CPET as against the practice of having individual selection tests, he said.

The CPET provides a single-window system for applying and appearing in one entrance test, thereby saving the students from the inconvenience of appearing in multiple tests conducted by multiple institutes at multiple places and on multiple dates, the officer said.

It will also help students save a lot of money as they do not have to pay application fees to multiple institutes, nor do they have to incur expenses to travel to multiple places, he said.

This will also eliminate the problem of clash of dates which was, otherwise, forcing the students to appear in one test and forego others in spite of paying the fees, Mishra said.

The selection of candidates for admission into courses will be made on the basis of marks secured in the entrance (70 out of 100) and the career marks (30).

The merit list will be published on November 7, he said.

Replying to a question, he said the authorities have decided to allow candidates infected with coronavirus to appear for the examination.

"Special arrangements will be made for COVID-19 examinees to attend the entrance. They can appear in the examination from isolation rooms," Mishra said.

Total 62,200 students have applied for the entrance test this year. The examination will be held in 26 centres for 14,700 post-graduate seats.

He said the classes will be held online if there is a delay in the reopening of colleges.