CUCET Exam-A Significant Change in the Central University Admissions Process
In recent year, a change in the admission process at central universities have created a buzz among students. Earlier board marks are often accepted for admission to Under Graduate (UG) courses at central universities like Delhi University(DU), Banaras Hindu University(BHU), Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU), and others. However, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has recently mandated all central institutions to hold a unified entrance examination i.e.Central University Common Entrance Test(CUCET) for admission to undergraduate programmes at Central Universities. What is CUCET? How has it changed the admission process for UG students? Let us seek answers to these questions in our article.
CUCET Exam-All we need to know
Central University Common Entrance Test(CUCET) is a national level exam conducted by National Testing Agency(NTA). This exam is conducted for getting admission into various central universities for undergraduate courses. The first CUCET for admissions to 42 central institutions is scheduled to take place in June and July this year. The National Testing Agency (NTA) will issue an official announcement on this soon. As per the information present till now, the CUCET is going to be held in the following 12 languages: Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, and Punjabi. The computer-based test will be divided into two sections: a computer aptitude test and a domain-specific test. Out of which Aptitude test accounts for 25% of the paper and Domain-specific test accounts for 75% of the paper. It will be a great opportunity for students who received low grades in their board exams to gain admission to various central universities. What will be the exam pattern of CUCET?
| Exam Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Exam Mode | Computer Based Test(CBT) |
| Duration | 2 hours |
| Number of Questions | 100 |
| Type of Questions | Multiple Choice Questions(MCQs) |
| Number of Sections | 2 sections-PartA(General Aptitude) and Part B(Domain or Subject knowledge |
| Marking Scheme | 1 marks for correct answer |
| Negative Marking | 0.25 marks subtracted for the wrong answer |
Syllabus For General Aptitude Test:
| English Language | Numerical Ability | Logical & Analytical Reasoning | General Awareness and Current Affairs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Error Correction | Ratio & Proportion, Percentage | Syllogisms | Sports |
| Unseen Passages | Profit & Loss | Logical sequences | India and its neighbouring countries |
| Sentence Rearrangement | Mixtures & Alligations | Analogies | General Politics |
| Subject-Verb Agreement | Simple Interest & Compound Interest & Surds & Indices | Alphanumeric Series | Knowledge of Current Events |
| Word Formation | Work & Time | Directions | Economy, Banking and Finance |
| Passage Completion | Time & Distance | Cocks & calendars | Indian Constitution |
| Idioms & Phrases | Mensuration – Cylinder, Cone, Sphere | Seating Arrangements | History |
| Sentence Completion | Sequence & Series | Puzzles | Science – Inventions and Discoveries |
| Fill in the Blanks | Permutation, Combination & Probability | Input-Output | Geography |
| Theme detection | Number Systems | Coded Inequalities | Budget and Five Year Plans |
| Data Interpretation | Coding-Decoding | Economy | |
| Ranking/Direction/Alphabet Test | Important Financial & Economic News | ||
| Blood Relations | Culture | ||
| Data Sufficiency | Scientific Research | ||
| Current Affairs – National & International | |||
| Countries and Capitals |
How CUCET Results will be calculated?
CUCET results will consist of two components-
- Qualifying Class Board Marks
- CUCET Score
The CUCET result will be based on both of these components.
- Qualifying Class Board marks will account for 30% of the total weightage.
- And the CUCET score will account for 70% of the total weightage.
For example, if someone received 70 per cent on their Board Exams, 30 per cent of 70 equals 21. If a student receives an 80 per cent on the CUCET, 70 per cent of 80 equals 56. CUCET's net result or merit will be 21+56=77.
List of Universities that are going to admit students on the basis of CUCET
There are various Central universities that are going to participate in this exam. The list of some of these are as follows:
- Banaras Hindu University
- Delhi University
- Aligarh Muslim University
- Jamia Millia Islamia
- Jawaharlal Nehru University
- Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya
- Central Sanskrit University
- Central Agricultural University
- Indian Maritime University
- Central University of Gujarat
- Central University of Haryana
- Central University of Himachal Pradesh
- Central University of Kashmir
- Central University of Jharkhand
- Central University of Karnataka
- Central University of Kerala
- Central University of Odisha
- Central University of Punjab
- Central University of Rajasthan
- Central University of Tamil Nadu
- Central University of Jammu
- Mahatma Gandhi Central University
- Central University of Andhra Pradesh
What impact this exam will have on the students?
Everything in our lives has been disrupted by the epidemic in the last few years, but one thing that has been especially disrupted is our educational system. As we all know, due to the pandemic, board exams for class XII have been cancelled, which has resulted in a significant increase in the criterion for admission to top universities as competition has grown. As a result, the majority of students who received excellent grades in their board exams are unable to obtain a seat at Delhi University or other top universities. Considering all of these issues, this exam could prove to be a great option.
First and foremost, as a result of this, student admittance to UG courses will no longer be primarily based on the results of the Board exams. It will be determined by both the Board examination and the CUCET score, but more weightage will be of the CUCET score. So if some student has scored less in the board exam they should not be concerned as they have an opportunity to score higher in the CUCET exam and get admission to their preferred college.
However, while this will give certain benefits, there are also drawbacks to this UG admissions exam. Students who have a good board test score but a poor CUCET score will be unable to get into their preferred college, which they may have gotten based on their board exam score if CUCET was not present. Furthermore, this exam has replaced all previous university entrance exams such as the BHU entrance exam, the DU entrance exam, the JNU entrance exam, and so on, because all university admissions will now be based on a single exam, the CUCET. Single exam for all universities will also create high competition among students. This exam could be advantageous to students, but there is also a drawback to that.
How this exam has changed the admission process for students seeking admission in UG courses?
Until last year, most students knew that there was only one way to get into their favourite universities or colleges, and that was to receive good grades in their board exams. The admission process for UG courses has radically changed since the UGC mandated the implementation of this uniform exam for admission into UG programmes for all central universities. It has changed at this level because previously, admission was dependent on board merit or some university-specific entrance test like the DUET, BHU entrance test, and so on. All of these things, however, have vanished from the admissions process with the adoption of this common exam. Admission to all participating central universities is based on a single exam. It has also affected the admission process for different streams since there is occasionally a separate entrance test for science UG programmes and a separate entrance test for commerce UG courses. There will now be a single exam that covers all of these topics. Let's see how this exam demonstrates to students whether it will make the admissions process easier or more complicated.