SHILLONG, May 12: In a huge relief to the students of Meghalaya, the Centre on Thursday granted exemption to colleges affiliated to the North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) from the Common University Entrance Test (CUET).
In a letter to Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday, Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan said taking into consideration the concerns raised by the CM, such as geographical conditions, hilly terrain, far-flung location, limited digital connectivity, infrastructure etc, the affiliated colleges of NEHU will continue with the existing practice for admission instead of CUET.
Earlier, he, in a letter to Sangma, had maintained that CUET has been envisioned to reduce the burden on students, universities and the entire education system. It would assess the students of different boards at the same level, giving them equal opportunities, he had written.
Pradhan had also said the Ministry/National Testing Agency (NTA) is making all possible efforts to conduct the test by solving the difficulties in different states and providing adequate exam centres.
CUET is being introduced for admission to all undergraduate courses in central universities.
It is expected to provide a common platform and equal opportunities to the candidates across the country, especially those from rural and other remote areas and help establish better rapport with the universities.
A single exam will enable the candidates to cover a wide outreach and be part of the admission process to various central universities.
The University Grants Commission, in its letter dated March 27, 2022, had informed the vice-chancellors of all central universities that the NTA has been assigned to conduct CUET.
The announcement had created confusion among the students in Meghalaya.
