The University Grants Commission (UGC) has appealed to public universities under state governments, colleges and private universities to adopt the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for admitting students in undergraduate programmes from the 2022-23 academic session.
UGC secretary Rajnish Jain wrote to the vice-chancellors, directors and principals of all universities and colleges to adopt CUET, for which the application window will be open between April 2 to April 30. For now, CUET has been made mandatory for the 45 central universities from the next academic year.
Jain wrote in the letter that if all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), irrespective of affiliation, adopt the CUET, students will not have to take multiple entrance exams. It will also provide equal opportunity to students from different boards, he added.
“Many state universities, deemed to be universities, private universities, and other Higher Education Institutions in the country also use either marks of 12th board or conduct entrance test for admission in UG programmes. To save students from appearing in multiple entrance examinations, conducted in different dates, sometimes coinciding with each other, and to also provide equal opportunity to all students from different boards, UGC invites and encourages all state universities, deemed to be universities, private universities and other HEIs to adopt and use CUET score from 2022-23 onwards for admissions of students in their UG programs,” says the UGC letter.
Meanwhile, the National Testing Agency (NTA), which will conduct CUET, on Sunday shared on its website nta.ac.in the broad guidelines of the test likely to be conducted in the first week of July. The test, based on NCERT class 12 syllabus, will be divided into four sections. Under Sections I A and I B applicants will have to sit for papers on languages. Each of the sections will contain 50 questions each of which an applicant will have to attempt 40.
Section II will test a candidate’s hold on core subjects they wish to pursue at the undergraduate level. A candidate will have to attempt 40 out of 50 questions in the Section II paper which will be 45-minutes-long as well. Section III of CUET will be a general test for any such undergraduate programme or programmes being offered by universities where a General Test is being used for admission instead of admitting students based on their scores on domain subjects.
Courtesy : The Indian Express
