The UGC announcement that all undergraduate admissions to central universities from this academic session will be based on a common entrance test – the Central University Entrance Test (CUET) instead of the marks secured at the Class 12 exams is fraught. The announcement came barely three months before university admissions and while the Board examinations were going on. The UGC has premised this change on the rationale that it is student friendly and that it will provide a level playing field to students coming from different states and boards which have wide variations.
But the UGC might not have considered this decision after exhaustive consultations which is imperative in a country like India. Class 12 students have been taken by surprise and are not ready to sit for yet another examination, more so after having missed classes during the two year disruption by the pandemic. Having put their best foot forward for the Class 12 exam and are now told it will count for nothing. Reports suggest that students will only get a fortnight to prepare for the CUET and that they will be marked for five different subject papers. If the UGC had thought through this matter from the point of view of the students it would have launched the CUET from 2023, thereby giving them enough time to be mentally prepared for the same.
The reason behind this national level test akin to NEET is that there is a suspicion that some states pep up the marks of their students to give them undue advantage. Hence the claim for a level playing field. It appears that in this country today there is a huge north-south divide and those occupying important positions in the Government and academic institutions feel that students from north India are not getting a fair deal. And since most of the institutions of national importance are based in Delhi which is also the seat of Government, far reaching decisions are taken in the national capital without a care for states beyond the power centre in Delhi Actually it is the examination system that needs to be revved up to make it fool-proof by adopting a transparent marking system. CUET like NEET will also perhaps result in opening up of more coaching centres for this common entrance test too. What happens to students that cannot afford coaching? Surely this country can adopt a better rationale by normalising marks across all boards as the criteria for admission into undergraduate courses than the CUET. But whatever be the apprehensions of the UGC, it is not democratic to take such decisions without a country-wide consultation. Not all wisdom resides in the national capital.
