On Monday, UGC chairman M Jagadesh Kumar said that the central universities will need to use CUET scores to admit students to undergraduate programs this year. In all likelihood, he said, the CUET will be held in the first week of July. Thus, Class 12 board examination marks will not be a determining factor for admission, apart from the eligibility criteria of the universities.
‘From the 2022-23 academic year, the National Testing Agency will be conducting the CUET for undergraduate and postgraduate programs. All the central universities will have to consider CUET scores for admissions to their programmes,’ Kumar said at a press briefing. The University Grants Commission (UGC) funds 45 central universities. According to Kumar, the CUET syllabus will mirror the NCERT class 12 model syllabus.
CUET will consist of Section 1A, Section 1B, general and domain-specific subjects. Candidates can choose from 13 different languages for Section 1A, which will be compulsory. The options are English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. In Section 1B, students have the choice to choose another language besides the ones offered in Section 1A. Some of the available languages are French, Arabic, German, etc., he explained.
Applicants can choose up to six domain-specific subjects at the undergraduate level, Kumar said. Some universities have a general test for admission to even domain-specific courses, so that is a part of the CUET. The UGC chairman said the UGC’s reservation policy will not be impacted by the CUET.
The universities will be able to enroll candidates on the basis of CUET results for general seats as well as reserved seats. This will not affect the existing admission and reservation policies of the universities, as stipulated by university regulations. According to him, a university that has a certain percentage of seats reserved for local students will have the ability to retain that. ‘However, these students are also required to apply to CUET,’ he added.
The majority of seats are reserved for minority students in universities like Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Both universities are yet to take a call on CUET. Upon receiving communication from UGC, AMU will take a decision on the CUET. The university will continue to admit foreign students on a supernumerary basis, according to Kumar.
CUET will be conducted in two shifts. The candidate will be able to write two domain-specific papers and one language paper in the first shift. During the second shift, candidates can write the remaining four domain-specific subjects and section 1B. CUET will provide equal opportunities for students across the board, particularly for those from the northeast and rural areas. By requiring only one exam, the CUET should also reduce the financial burden on parents and students.
State universities, private universities, and deemed to be universities can all use CUET scores for undergraduate and postgraduate admission, Kumar says. Delhi University and some other universities have already announced that they will only admit students to undergraduate courses based on CUET scores. Regarding postgraduate programs, Kumar says, most universities use CUET while some conduct their own exams. As of now, universities have the choice to use CUET. ‘UGC will publish a public notice on Tuesday regarding CUET and NTA will issue detailed guidelines soon’, Kumar said.
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