With the looming possibility of a common entrance exam for admissions to undergraduate courses of Delhi University this year, teachers and aspirants are now raising concerns over the new format of the examination saying it will disadvantage students from marginalised and rural backgrounds and those opting for a stream change.
Last year, the Union Ministry of Education had constituted a committee to look into modalities for the Central Universities Common Entrance Test for admissions to all undergraduate courses at central universities in accordance with the National Education Policy 2020.
While the committee has submitted the report and the ministry is yet to come out with a final decision on whether it would be implemented this year or not, DU teachers have expressed concerns over the matter.
Former executive council member Rajesh Jha said that introducing a new mode of entrance test without giving aspirants time to familiarize themselves with the syllabus or the paper pattern may disadvantage those students who don’t have uninterrupted access to learning material.
“Cancellation of board exams has given way to demands for CUCET so that some form of exams are conducted for admissions to UG courses in DU. But we should not implement anything without proper consultation with the university’s academic council and other statutory bodies. There have been several research reports documenting that centralized tests such as CUCET have favoured people from affluent backgrounds who have access to better study material and we need an inclusive admission policy,” he said.
Courtesy – Hindustan Times