Punjab Technical University (PTU) has decided to hold its common entrance test (CET) a month early to enable it to complete its admission process in time. While the PTU had conducted the test for entrance to BTech and BPharmacy in the first week of June till last year, officials said this time it would most likely be conducted on May 3.

Though a notification regarding the CET has not yet been issued by the state government, the university has already advertised its schedule. Vice-Chancellor Rajneesh Arora said the off-campus and online counselling being organised by the university for the first time would begin in the first week of June. The management quota seats would have to be filled before July-end so that all admissions closed well before the session began in first week of August, he added.

The officials seem to have advanced the test schedule in view of problems they faced on account of much delayed schedule of the current session. While classes had begun in the first week of August, the process of admission continued right till mid-November, forcing the authorities to postpone their first semester examination schedule by a fortnight.

National Information Centre’s local head Amolak Singh Kalsi said the proposal for conducting an online counselling had been sent to the headquarters in New Delhi. “We are yet to receive the final nod,” he said.

“Ours will be the first state university to hold the examination after CBSE’s AIEEE, which is being conducted on April 26. All state universities will have to see that their examination does not clash with ours and accordingly decide the schedule of 
their entrance test,” said the Vice-Chancellor.