CUET should be optional for varsities or colleges, opine Association of Indian Universities

It is preferable that the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for undergraduate admissions remain as an option for colleges and other educational institutions in the country said the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) in a press conference on Wednesday, March 22. The Secretary General of AIU Pankaj Mittal said, "CUET has not been made mandatory yet and AIU's stand is that it should remain voluntary for the universities or colleges willing to opt for the new system." She added, "In our opinion, it is a good system. This was introduced to ease the problems of students, who will now appear only in one CUET exam. But I heard that the Government of India has recently said it is optional for a university," as reported by PTI.

Despite a large number of institutions across the country opting for the CUET, Mittal acknowledged the opposition to the new system for pursuing degree programmes in the Northeast.

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As many as 206 universities, in total, up from 90 institutes the previous year, have chosen the CUET so far, including 44 central and 33 state universities.
In March of last year, the University Grants Commission (UGC) announced that all central universities would conduct undergraduate (UG) admissions through a common entrance test and not based on Class XII marks as reported by PTI.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) had to cancel the exam at several centres during the first administration of the CUET-UG, which took place in July of last year. Many students were turned away from centres even though some were informed of the cancellation the night before the test.

Mittal said the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) will host the three-day National Conference of Vice Chancellors on Transformative Higher Education for Atmanirbhar Bharat starting Thursday, March 23. Around 600 vice-chancellors, including those from foreign varsities, will likely participate in the conference, which will be inaugurated by former President Ram Nath Kovind.

During the event, the AIU's 97th Foundation Day Lecture will be delivered by Bibek Debroy, the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, in addition to the 97th Annual General Meeting of the organisation.