CUET UG 2023 Important notice, check JEE, NEET Latest Update
CUET to be held in 3 shifts; merger with JEE, NEET to be announced 2 years in advance: UGC Chief
The head of UGC, M Jagadesh Kumar, has announced that the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for undergraduate courses will take place in three shifts per day this year instead of two.
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Additionally, any plans to merge CUET with important entrance exams such as JEE and NEET will be made known to the public at least two years in advance. Kumar also stated in an interview with PTI that the UGC and the National Testing Agency (NTA) are fully prepared to guarantee a smooth and error-free second edition of CUET-UG.
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Regarding students’ experiences last year, I agree that there were some issues at a few test centers. However, we are taking steps to address those issues this year to ensure that students can focus solely on their exams without worrying about any technical glitches.
To achieve this, we are identifying test centers well in advance and evaluating their infrastructure, including computers, bandwidth, and technical staff, to ensure that the second edition of the exams runs smoothly.
I acknowledge that there were several technical issues during the previous exam, but we have taken steps to resolve all the problems this year. Keeping in mind the difficulties faced by the students, we have devised a plan to ensure that candidates only need to focus on the exam itself and not worry about any technical glitches.
The upcoming second edition of the exam serves as a common entrance test for undergraduate admissions in central universities throughout the country and is scheduled to take place from May 21 to 31.
According to Kumar, we have arranged for additional computers and centers as a contingency plan. This is to ensure that if there are any glitches, candidates can be easily shifted to other centers without canceling the exam for that particular shift.
The UGC Chief stated that the exam schedule has been planned to bring the academic calendar back on track starting this year. Additionally, he announced a change in the exam pattern, stating that the exam will now be conducted in three shifts.
Regarding the proposal to merge the CUET with the engineering entrance exam JEE and medical entrance exam NEET, he stated that it is feasible. He explained that the details are currently being worked out, and the announcement of any merger will be made at least two years in advance to allow students ample time to prepare accordingly.
He also emphasized that the NEP 2020 aims to reduce the burden on students by having a single national-level entrance exam. Thus, the idea of a merger was proposed to mentally prepare students for the possibility in the coming years. The UGC is working internally to determine how to move forward with this proposal and is consulting with several stakeholders, including the Health Ministry.
In March of last year, the UGC announced that undergraduate admissions for all central universities would be conducted through a common entrance test rather than being based on class 12 marks.
The inaugural edition of the CUET-UG was held in July of last year, but it was plagued by technical issues. As a result, the NTA had to cancel the exam at multiple centers. While some students were informed about the cancellation the night before the exam, many were turned away from the centers on the day of the exam.
The UGC chairman had later stated that the exam had to be canceled at certain centers due to reports of sabotage.
The UGC chairman had later stated that the exam had to be canceled at certain centers due to reports of sabotage.
Despite these issues, the CUET became the second biggest entrance exam in the country with 14.9 lakh registrations. It surpassed the average registration for JEE-Main, which is nine lakh. The CUET serves as the common gateway for undergraduate admissions in all central universities.
According to Kumar, the UGC has received more than 11.5 lakh registrations for this year’s exam, and they expect the number to surpass last year’s since the deadline has been extended until March 30.
When asked about the “normalisation” of scores, which disappointed several candidates by reducing their marks and making it difficult for them to get into their dream college, Kumar said that measures have been taken to minimise any errors during the process.
To reduce the chances of errors, the exam schedule has been compressed to just 10 days this year instead of being held over a month and a half. According to Kumar, the variation is higher when the exam is held over a more extended period.
The normalisation formula, which uses the “equipercentile method,” has been determined by a panel of professors from the Indian Statistical Institute, IIT Delhi, and Delhi University.
Kumar also explained that the CUET centers have been classified into three categories: A, B, and C. The centers where problems occurred last year were placed in category C and will not be used this year. Category B centers require some groundwork, and appropriate infrastructure needs to be provided. Category A centers are considered to be completely fine.