Common entrance test for central universities put on hold this year; UGC asks universities to commence classed from Oct 1

The Central Universities Common Entrance Test(CUCET) will not be conducted for this academic year, said the University Grants Commission(UGC) in a circular on Sunday. Citing the pandemic as a reason, the UGC said that universities should proceed with the admission process for this year "without further delay."

The regulator also stated that the universities should complete admissions "as per past practices" by September 30 and commence classes for undergraduate and postgraduate courses by October 1. The UGC however, has given a leeway of 17 days for the commencement of classes in case the results of the qualifying exams are delayed. The CUCET was proposed as part of the National Education Policy, released in 2020 under former Minister for Education, Ramesh Pokhriyal.

The circular added that the CUCET will be held in the academic year 2022-23. The admission process and the classes both can be conducted in either online or offline and blended mode, the UGC had said in an earlier circular on Friday, depending on the situation with the pandemic in the respective regions. It has also asked universities to conduct the final year exams pending for the academic year 2020-2021, in online, offline, or blended mode by August 31. Intermediate students once again will be scored based on internal assessments, as was the case in 2020. Admissions to higher education institutions are expected to start once the CBSE results are out on July 31.