TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: More than 3,000 science students are expected to answer the Goa Common Entrance Test Examination, the result of which will decide admissions into the state’s engineering and pharmacy colleges.
The GCET examination will be held at 10 centres across the state, with 3014 applicants this year which are around 600 less than previous years.
Speaking to Herald, Deputy Director of Technical Education Pradip Kusnur said that the final number of those who actually answer the exam could be lower than those who have applied given that this year the examination is being held after the declaration of the HSSCE results.
“This year the number of applicants for GCET has gone down by around 600. Earlier it used to hover around 3,600 or so. This is because of the NEET-UG,” he said.
“We do not know how many of the students will finally answer. Because students will now already know whether they have cleared the Std XII exam or not and how they have fared,” Kusnur added.
However this year the GCET will only grant admission to engineering and pharmacy courses with architecture too now having a National Exam -- the NATA(National Aptitude Test in Architecture), conducted by Council of Architecture.
GCET-2013 will be conducted in physics, chemistry and maths, based on Class. XII syllabus prescribed by Goa Board for March 2013 exam in these subjects. Each paper will consist of 75 questions, of one mark each, to be answered in two hours, with no negative marking.
This year’s exam excludes biology given that the medical and dental aspirants will be answering the NEET-UG for their admissions.
The Centre’s include Don Bosco Higher Secondary School and Goa College of Pharmacy in Panjim, Rosary College, Navelim, Fr Agnel Multipurpose Higher Secondary, Verna, Deepvihar High School, Vasco, Purushottam Walawalkar Higher Secondary, Mapusa, A J de Almeida HS and N J Aguiar HSS, Ponda, Govt HSS in Sankhali and Chandrabhaga Naik HSS in Curchorem.
Kusnur said that all preparations have been made for the smooth conduct of the examinations.