MUMBAI, Sept. 18 -- Admission to undergraduate engineering and pharmacy courses in Maharashtra may no longer depend solely on the results of the state-level common entrance test, or MHT-CET. The state government is devising a system where the merit list would also give weightage to the candidates' performance in the Class 12 examination. The state higher and technical education department issued an order to this effect on Thursday. It also announced a committee to recommend a policy that would specify exactly how much weightage the Class 12 marks would carry and from which academic year the new system can be rolled out. The move follows a series of allegations surrounding the recent MHT-CET, including tampering of scores and large-scale leaks of student data. There were also instances where students who had secured only 40-50% marks in their Class 12 examinations had obtained exceptionally high percentiles in the MHT-CET, triggering allegations of malpractice in the CET. The state government has ordered an investigation into the alleged irregularities. Exam centres against which complaints have been received will undergo a forensic audit. As a long-term measure, however, the government believes it might be prudent to take the candidates' Class 12 marks into account while preparing the admissions merit list. "The objective is to maintain a balance between the results of the Class 12 examination and the CET examination and ensure that the method of determining the merit ranking is more transparent and equitable for all candidates," said a senior official from the higher and technical education department. According to the government resolution issued on Thursday, "The committee shall determine the weightage to be given to Class 12 marks and the percentile obtained in the Common Entrance Test for the merit list to be prepared by the CET Cell for the admission process." The five-member committee set up to draft the new policy will be headed by the vice-chancellor of the University of Mumbai and chairperson of the Maharashtra State Academic and Research Council (MahaSARC). The vice-chancellor of the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University, Lonere; vice-chancellor of COEP Technological University, Pune; and director of the Directorate of Higher Education, Pune, will be its members, while the director of the Directorate of Technical Education, Mumbai, will serve as the committee's member-secretary. The decision to look at the merit list afresh was taken following a proposal from the State CET Cell on September 2, urging a review of the eligibility criteria for undergraduate engineering and pharmacy courses. "With Class 12 exam scores currently having no bearing on the admission process, students are increasingly prioritising entrance-test preparation, often at the expense of their board examinations," an official with the CET said....