Pune: The seat acceptance fee structure for first-year engineering admissions through the Maharashtra Centralised Admission Process (CAP) from the 2026-27 academic year has been revised by the State Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell.Students seeking a better seat in subsequent CAP rounds must pay a higher, non-refundable seat acceptance fee each time they accept the upgraded allotment.For instance, a student who pays Rs 1,000 to accept a seat in the first round will have to pay Rs 2,000 if allotted a better seat in the second round and Rs 3,000 if they accept a further upgrade in the third round. Earlier, they paid a one-time seat acceptance fee.Parents said the revised structure imposes an unnecessary financial burden on students. “It is unjust to compel students to pay additional fees each time they opt to secure admission to a better college based on merit. This decision creates financial barriers to the Right to Education, and must be immediately withdrawn. Govt is expected to stop financial exploitation of parents, scrap the additional fees charged for the ‘betterment’ process, and provide immediate relief to all students and parents,” Madhav Suryavanshi, chief coordinator, Shikshan Vikas Manch, an organisation working in the education sector, said.Students often choose better options where they temporarily hold one seat while waiting for a preferred college or branch in the next round. Under the new rule, every successful betterment comes with an additional acceptance fee, making repeated upgrades more expensive.But officials say the need to change came after they analysed last year’s CAP data. “We found that thousands of students were blocking seats in every round, making it hard for students with lower merit to access those seats. We want a balance between liberty to choose while ensuring that students don’t unnecessarily block seats. It is detrimental for students who are academically less meritorious,” Dilip Sardesai, commissioner of the CET cell, said.He added that if a student gets a college in the first round and wants to accept that seat and then go for betterment, he or she needs to pay Rs 1,000. If the student gets the same college in the subsequent rounds, he or she doesn’t need to pay again.“A student must pay Rs 2,000 only if they get a different college in the second round and want to accept that seat. Secondly, if they don’t want to reserve the seat they got in a round, and directly go for the next round, they don’t need to pay anything. If the student doesn’t get allotted colleges in the first round, but gets a college in the second round, then that is counted as his first seat and he or she has to pay Rs 1,000,” he added.
