University Grants Commission Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar on Wednesday said approximately 202 higher educational institutes including 46 Central Universities have registered for using CUET-UG 2024 scores for their admission in UG programmes and more are joining.
Taking to microblogging site X (formerly known as Twitter), the UGC chairman posted, “So far, 46 Central Universities, 32 State Universities, 20 Deemed-to-be-Universities, 98 Private Universities and 6 Government Institutions have registered for using CUET-UG scores for their admission in UG programmes. More are joining….”
Earlier in the day, the UGC chairman outlined the initiatives taken by the higher education regulator in the country for conducting the Common University Entrance Test for Undergraduates (CUET UG) 2024.
Kumar said to improve the overall testing experience for candidates appearing in CUET UG 2024, the difficulty level of the entrance exam has been reduced to moderate, accessibility enhanced, and logistical challenges have been reduced to make the test stress-free for the candidates, reported ANI.
Detailing the steps taken by the National Testing Agency–responsible for conducting the CUET— Kumar told ANI that the NTA has planned more test centres, hybrid mode examinations, timely availability of admit cards, and breaks between exams held on the same day to make the same more convenient and stress-free for the aspirants.
“Gap/breaks will provide students a mental and physical break, allowing them to transition between subjects and reduce stress,” he said.
“Since this time, NTA is conducting CUET-UG in hybrid mode, we will have more centres in cities, and students will get the centres of their choice. For security reasons, students can download admit cards a few days before the test,” ANI quoted the UGC chairman as saying.
Kumar further said the third edition of the Common University Entrance Test for Undergraduate (CUET UG) 2024 will be conducted between May 15 and May 31, 2024. The date sheet of the same will be released after the registration process is completed on March 26.
Earlier, Kumar had said there would be no change in the schedule of the entrance exam view of the Lok Sabha elections.
“NTA will conduct CUET-UG, as announced earlier, between May 15 and May 31, 2024. In this period, two dates overlap with the election dates on 20 and 25 May.”
“This year instead of attempting 10 papers, students will be permitted to write a maximum of six papers,” the UGC chairman told ANI.
“The rationale behind this decision is that only a tiny percentage of students have opted for ten papers in the last year’s test. However, the scheduling of papers becomes very complex, leading to conducting the test over several days,” Kumar added.
Speaking about the difficulty level of questions, the UGC chairman said,”We want to keep the difficulty level of questions in CUET-UG moderate because students are more likely to perceive it as a fair and manageable challenge. Answering such reasonable difficulty level questions can improve students’ intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy, as they believe in their ability to prepare for and perform well on the test without undue external help. This positive feeling experienced by the students diffuses from one batch to another and reduces their dependency on coaching.”
The UGC chairman also informed the measures planned to prevent cheating during the entrance examination including rigorous identity verification processes, including photo identification and biometric scans to prevent impersonation.
“Seating will be arranged in a way that minimizes communication between students. A sufficient number of invigilators will be assigned to monitor the entire examination hall. While Random spot checks will be conducted during the exam,” the UGC chief added.
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Published: 20 Mar 2024, 05:39 PM IST