All central universities to use common entrance exam

In a move that could lead to a significant shift in higher education admissions in India, the government has said the 54 universities and colleges funded by the central government should base admissions on the Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUCET) starting from the 2022-23 academic year.

“This exam shall test conceptual understanding and the ability to apply knowledge and shall aim to eliminate the need for taking coaching for these exams. The process will reduce the burden on students, universities and colleges and the entire education system,” the education ministry said in its year-end review of higher education.

CUCET is an all-India level entrance exam conducted in English and 13 regional languages for admission to undergraduate and postgraduate courses in participating institutions. Currently, a total of 20 universities, including 13 central universities, participate in CUCET.

Now the government is proposing that the exam be held countrywide this year for admission to all central universities after plans to bring it in in 2021 were put on hold due to the pandemic.

In a note on 12 January, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), a postgraduate-only university in New Delhi, said, after its academic council meeting voted in favour, that it would admit students through CUCET. It previously used its own entrance exam, the JNUEE, conducted by the National Testing Agency.

The executive council of Delhi University (DU) on 17 December 2021 released a notification confirming that admission to all undergraduate programmes from the academic session 2022-23 would be through CUCET. DU, with 77 constituent colleges, had also discussed holding its own common entrance test for undergraduate admissions alongside CUCET but this is still to be decided.

Admission to popular undergraduate courses at DU, which draws students from all over the country, has been on the basis of school-leaving or Class-12 marks, leading to higher and higher cut-off marks – the minimum marks – for particular subjects at certain colleges in recent years, which has sparked an annual controversy.

For admission in 2021, seven DU colleges announced a cut-off of 100% for 11 courses in a year when schools and exams were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rajesh Giri, associate professor at Delhi University’s Rajdhani College, said he was in favour of CUCET to provide homogeneity and uniformity in the evaluation of students.

“A student of a particular (exam) board scoring less than a student of another board could actually be brighter than him or her. The criteria for giving marks for each board are different. Scoring high in board exams may not necessarily translate into knowledge,” said Giri.

“It also means an equal opportunity for all. Central universities have their attraction and students come from different places. We are equally sensitive about underprivileged students. There are many schemes of the government to help them,” he said.

Need for centralised exam

Giri said CUCET was the need of the hour because the number of students seeking admission was rising rapidly. “It will also be easier for universities to rationally evaluate applicants and there will be no injustice with any student,” he maintained, adding “according to changing times, we have to make some changes”.

The need for a standardised common entrance exam was raised by top institutions such as Delhi University which is a magnet for students from around the country sitting a variety of state board exams, as it was felt the examination boards of various states conducting Class-12 school-leaving exams differed widely in their evaluation standards.

For example, students in the southern state of Kerala scored better than their counterparts in many other states with similar capacity and capability because of supposed lenient marking by the Kerala State Examination Board. As a result, more students from Kerala secured undergraduate places in top universities and colleges.

More than 6,000 students scored 100% marks in the Kerala State Examination Board assessments in 2021, leading to protests last year by student organisations and teachers at DU at the skew towards Kerala students in DU admissions.

Similarly, students taking the government Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) score much better in Class-12 exams than students examined by several other state boards due to increasingly lenient marking, even as some state boards continue to apply strict standards and marking criteria.

This has put students of many state boards at a disadvantage when competing for prestigious colleges compared to CBSE students.

CUCET is set to reduce the students’ dependence on Class-12 board exam scores and provide a common platform for admission in central universities, levelling the playing field.

Although the exact format has not yet been made clear, CUCET is expected to be a multiple-choice, computer-based exam and could consist of a general aptitude test that includes mathematics and language proficiency, and a second subject-specific test for assessing domain knowledge.

CUCET was first held in 2010 for admission to seven central universities for 1,500 places in 41 undergraduate, postgraduate and integrated courses. From its inception until 2020, CUCET was conducted by the Central University of Rajasthan. The government’s National Testing Agency, which also handles centralised examinations for medical schools and Indian Institutes of Technology, took over running these exams in 2021.

Boost to flourishing coaching industry

While those in favour of CUCET say it will streamline the admissions process across the country and help do away with skyrocketing cut-offs, those who oppose it believe it will boost an already flourishing coaching industry and benefit students from privileged backgrounds with good English.

Academics noted that advertisements from coaching companies had already begun to appear specifying CUCET.

Students from rural backgrounds who are either not in a position to undertake or can’t afford expensive coaching would not be able to compete in a pan-India exam, critics say. Instead of encouraging students from weaker social and economic backgrounds, CUCET will exclude them and promote uniformity instead of diversity in higher education.

Dev Kumar, a member of the DU executive council, said a common test was not good for rural students. “This entire policy is in favour of the urban class. When the entrance exams are conducted, coaching centres also spring up to coach the children. One has to attend coaching in order to succeed in a competitive exam. Thus, CUCET also favours urban and economically strong students. Commercialisation begins.”

He added: “Many children come from villages, the countryside and remote areas. They will have to fill in the form for CUCET. But there are no cyber cafes or computer centres or internet connections in the villages.”

DU Associate Professor Sapna Chamadia said she opposed CUCET. “It is heartening to see some poor children studying in Delhi and other top institutions in the country but that would end due to this entrance exam.

“Whatever opportunity there was for the admission of poor children in central universities, that too is getting eliminated,” she said.

Extending CUCET during the current COVID-19 pandemic situation is also controversial, with positive cases rising rapidly as India is currently facing a severe third wave of COVID-19.

Schools and colleges in some states have been closed or are being run with limited attendance to ensure social distancing and adherence to other COVID-19 protocols.

“Schools could not cover the whole curriculum and questions would be set on the entire syllabus. Many state boards have excluded some parts of the syllabus but there is no uniformity in the selection of portions that were left out. In such a situation, how can a common test be conducted?” said Jagriti Bais, a final-year school student in Delhi.