Common entrance test must for UG courses from next year, says UGC

After announcing Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for Under Graduate (UG) programmes, the University Grants Commission has instructed all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to adopt it from the academic session 2022-2023.

As part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the commission had recently issued a public notice regarding the conduct of CUET in all UGC-funded central universities in 13 Indian languages by the National Testing Agency (NTA). Accordingly, the NTA will be conducting the CUET in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode.

The 13 languages include Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Odiya, Bengali, Assamese, Punjabi, English, Hindi, and Urdu. The candidates, who will be appearing for the CUET, can choose a maximum of any three languages.

The commission pointed out that generally the languages and subjects chosen should be the ones that a student has opted for in his latest Class-12 Board examination. However, if any university permits any flexibility in this regard, the same can be exercised under CUET (UG) also.

The CUET will be conducted on multiple days in two shifts, depending on the number of candidates, languages and tests taken.

When contacted a senior official from the State Higher Education Department said the State government had already opposed any type of entrance for pursuing higher studies. “But (CUET) is a part of NEP and the government will soon take a final decision on this circular,” the official added.

State Platform for Common School System – Tamil Nadu (SPCSS-TN) general secretary PB Prince Gajendra Babu said the entrance test for all UG courses after completion of higher secondary (+2) course is to discourage the majority of students from entering higher education.

Tamil Nadu Teacher’s Association president P K Ilamaran said the entrance test for UG courses will affect the students from rural areas studying in public schools.