Nagpur: Maharashtra will witness a record turnout in the state-level engineering entrance examination with over 4.79 lakh students slated to appear for the first phase of the MHT-CET (PCM group) beginning April 11, marking the rollout of a two-attempt system to align with national-level testing patterns.Conducted by the State Common Entrance Test Cell for admissions to engineering, pharmacy and agriculture courses for 2026-27 academic year, the computer-based examination will be held across 198 centres in all 36 districts between April 11 and April 20, excluding April 12 and 14, in two daily sessions.For the first time, candidates are being offered two opportunities to take the test. While the first phase runs this month, the second is scheduled between May 14 and May 16. “If a student appears for both attempts, the higher percentile will be considered for admission,” the CET authorities clarified, adding that appearing for at least one attempt remains mandatory.The move follows directions from higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil, bringing the state exam structure closer to national formats like the Joint Entrance Examination (Main), which offers multiple attempts.The PCM group has seen a rise of 15,070 registrations compared to last year, with total applicants increasing from 4,64,262 in 2025 to 4,79,332 this year for the first attempt alone. Of these, 2,89,707 are male candidates and 1,89,604 females, along with 21 transgender candidates, 2,750 orphans and 2,060 persons with disabilities.In total, 7,75,885 students have registered across both attempts this year, reflecting a sharp rise in participation over the past four years — from 3,13,731 in 2023-24 to nearly 7.76 lakh now.Introduction of multiple attempts is expected to ease exam pressure while intensifying competition, as Maharashtra’s technical education pipeline continues to expand in line with national skilling and higher education trends, as per the officials.GFXExam Schedule & Format#Feature —– Details ——– NotesExam Dates —– April 11-20, 2026 ——– Excluding April 12 & 14Exam Mode —– Computer-Based ——– Conducted in two shifts dailyTotal Duration —– 180 minutes ——– Divided into two sectionsSection 1 —– Physics & Chemistry ——– First 90 minutes (auto-submit)Section 2 —– Mathematics ——– Next 90 minutesBiometric Check —– Fingerprint & photo ——– Identity verification at centreKey Policy UpdateFeature —– Details ——– ImpactTwo Attempts —– Introduced from 2026 ——– More opportunitiesFirst Attempt —– April 2026 ——– Ongoing phaseSecond Attempt —– May 2026 ——– Optional attemptBest Score Rule —– Higher percentile considered ——– Student advantage
