UGC chairman says CUET scores will be used to admit UG students to central universities

New Delhi: On Monday, the UGC chairman said that the central universities would have to use the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) scores for admission to undergraduate programmes. The CUET is expected to be conducted in the first week of July, he said.

This means, in addition to the eligibility criteria of each university, the Class 12 board examination marks will not be considered in determining admission.

"From the 2022-23 academic year, the National Testing Agency will be conducting the CUET for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. All the central universities will have to consider CUET scores for admissions to their programmes," Mr Kumar said in a press briefing.

There are 45 central universities funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The syllabus of the CUET will be mirrored with the Class 12 model syllabus of the NCERT, Mr Kumar added.

In addition to Sections 1A and 1B, the CUET will also include domain-specific tests.

There will be 13 languages available for Section 1A, which will be compulsory. Candidates can choose the language they prefer.

The available languages are English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.

Section 1B is optional and for students who want to opt for another language apart from the ones that are a part of Section 1A. Some of the languages on offer are French, Arabic, German, etc, he said.

It is part of the CUET that some universities accept general tests for admission to domain-specific courses, he said.

CUET will not impact the reservation policy of universities, according to the chair of the UGC.

"The universities can enroll candidates for the general seats as well as for the reserved seats on the basis of CUET scores. It will not impact the existing admission and reservation policy," he said. He also said there would not be any centralized counselling after CUET.

The CUET will be held in two shifts. In the first shift, candidates will be able to write one language, two domain-specific papers and the general test. In the second shift, candidates can write the remaining four domain-specific subjects and section 1B, Mr Kumar added.

In discussing the benefits of CUET, he said that it will provide equal opportunities to students across boards, especially those from rural areas and the northeast.

In addition, the CUET will reduce parents' and students' financial burdens by requiring only one exam.

According to him, state universities, private universities, and deemed to be universities can also use CUET scores for admissions if they want.

Coming to postgraduate programmes, Mr Kumar said, that there are many universities that have adopted the CUET while there are some universities that conduct their own exams. "We hope that all the universities adopt the CUET for postgraduate programmes," he added.