Maharashtra Govt Revises Admission Rules For Diploma Courses In Engineering, Pharmacy, Architecture From 2025–26

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Government on Wednesday revised key provisions in the admission rules for diploma courses in engineering, architecture, hotel management and catering technology, surface coating technology, and pharmacy, with the changes set to come into effect from the academic year 2025–26. The decision has been formalised through a government resolution (GR) issued by the Higher and Technical Education Department on June 11.

Under the updated rules, admissions to these diploma courses must now be carried out in a transparent manner only after the completion of the Centralised Admission Process (CAP) rounds and strictly based on the inter-se merit of candidates who have applied first to the Competent Authority and then to the respective institutions.

Institutions will also be allowed to accept admission applications until the date of the final CAP round allotment, instead of being restricted to earlier fixed schedules. They are required to announce the admission schedule and the number of available seats on their official websites.

A notable addition to the revised rules is a provision to assist students unable to submit their applications to the institution directly. The GR states, “In case a candidate is unable to submit the application directly to the concerned institution for any reason, the candidate shall have the opportunity to apply through the website of the Competent Authority. These applications will be forwarded to the respective institutions after the allotment process of CAP Round – IV. The concerned institution shall consider such applications while preparing the inter-se-merit.”

The changes apply to diploma programmes offered by institutions approved by the All India Council for Technical Education, the Pharmacy Council of India, and the Council of Architecture.

These include first-year post-SSC engineering diploma, direct second-year engineering diploma, first-year post-HSC diplomas in hotel management and catering technology, and surface coating technology, as well as architecture and pharmacy diploma courses.

The government clarified that earlier amendments made to Rule 13 in previous resolutions have now been cancelled and replaced with these fresh modifications.

This comes less than a week after the state government had on June 6 approved changes to the duration and admission eligibility criteria for Art Diploma Courses offered by the Maharashtra State Art Education Board.