CUET to happen twice a year from next academic session

The Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUET) for undergraduate programmes, is likely to be held twice a year from the next academic session onwards. UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar said on Tuesday that the National Testing Agency (NTA) was deliberating on the matter. 

CUET will not just be limited to admissions in Central Universities. Jagadesh Kumar said that several prominent private universities have indicated that they would like to come on board for using the scores from the common entrance exam for undergraduate admissions.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct the common entrance exam once this year but CUET will be conducted twice a year from next session. In a major change, last week it was announced that the CUET scores, and not Class 12 marks, will be mandatory for admission to 45 central universities and the Central universities.

Read | CUET application process to begin on April 2, check requirement to get admission to Delhi University

The Central universities have been given the right to choose their minimum eligibility criteria. Jagadesh Kumar meanwhile, also asserted that the state board students will not be at a disadvantage with the new UG admission process.

He simultaneously made it clear that the Common Entrance Test (CUET) will not give a boost to coaching classes nor make Board exams irrelevant despite the fact that Class 12 board exam marks will no more be used for college admissions. The UGC Chief said that CUET will not give push to the 'coaching culture'. 

Format for CUET

Common Entrance Test will be broadly divided into four sections, based on NCERT's Class-XII syllabus.

Under Sections IA and IB of the Common Entrance Test, applicants have to sit for papers on languages. 

This will test language skills through comprehensions based on factual, literary and narrative passages.

Section-2 will test candidate's command over core subjects they wish to pursue at the undergraduate level.

Candidates can pick up to six subjects from a list of 27 subjects offered to them in Common Entrance Test.

(With PTI Inputs)