MHT CET, MBA CET Exams to Be Conducted Twice a Year from 2026

• Students in Maharashtra will have two opportunities each year to take the entrance exams.
• The higher of the two scores will count for admissions to technical, professional, and management courses.
• Detailed exam guidelines, schedule, and admission rules will be published by the State CET Cell soon.

The Government of Maharashtra has approved a significant overhaul of its entrance-examination system. From 2026 onwards, the state will conduct both the MHT CET for undergraduate technical and professional courses and the MBA CET for postgraduate management courses twice every year

Announcing this decision, the state’s Higher and Technical Education Minister, Chandrakant Patil, explained that the move is intended to provide students with two chances annually to sit for these crucial exams. In doing so, Maharashtra aims to align its testing framework more closely with the national model exemplified by JEE Main, which also allows multiple annual attempts.

A review meeting chaired by Minister Patil brought together senior officials including the Additional Chief Secretary of the Higher & Technical Education Department, the Commissioner of the State CET Cell, the Director of Higher Education and the Director of Technical Education.

Under the new format: the first session will be held in April 2026, while a second optional session will follow in May 2026. Students seeking admission to professional undergraduate courses will be required to take the first session, and may opt for the second to improve their score. For those who participate twice, only the higher score will be considered in the admissions process.

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The revised structure will apply to both Physics-Chemistry-Biology and Physics-Chemistry-Mathematics streams for the MHT CET, as well as to the MBA/MMS CET for management programmes.

Officials say the change is designed to make the exam process more flexible for students, reduce the risk of losing an academic year due to a poor performance or unforeseen reasons, and ease pressure by giving a backup attempt within the same academic year.

The State CET Cell will soon publish detailed guidelines covering application procedures, schedules, score normalization, and logistical arrangements. Changes to exam centres, evaluation timelines, and calendar logistics are expected as part of the rollout.

Overall, this reform is part of Maharashtra’s broader effort to modernise its higher-education landscape and expand opportunities for aspiring students across the state.