Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has written to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urging him to exempt the state from the Common University Entrance Test (CUET). Earlier in May, the Chief Minister had announced a possible exemption.
Sangma had then stated that the Centre had agreed to exempt certain areas from the national-level entrance test, where the colleges were not centrally funded. However, official confirmation was awaited. Then on March 7, the Chief Minister wrote to Pradhan, reasoning that since there was a delay in the state board exams, there would be challenges in conducting CUET on schedule, as mentioned in a report by ANI.
"The State of Meghalaya has recently undergone a Legislative Assembly Election the results of which have been declared last week. This has resulted in the delay of State Board examination and this regard, students are facing unprecedented challenges to attempt the CUET for the State level undergraduates institutions," the letter reads.
"In light of the above, and as most of the colleges in the state are affiliated to the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), I request your good office to kindly exempt the State of Meghalaya from conducting the CUET," it added. The Centre announced the exemption of NEHU from CUET in May.
"Last year we had requested the Ministry of Education and your good offices to kindly exempt Meghalaya from the purview of the CUET through letter DO.CM/PER-UM/2022/48, Shillong, dated the 25th of April 2022, to which you had graciously agreed through your letter DO.No.65-4/2020-CU. dated 11th May 2022," Sagma said further in the letter, as per ANI.
The Chief Minister also informed that the steps were taken to create a State University, for which the government would soon receive approval from the Governor of Meghalaya. Sangma chaired the first cabinet meeting of the newly elected Government in Meghalaya on March 7, when this was announced.
