The decision to conduct a Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for admission to undergraduate programs in all University Grants Commission-funded Central Universities (CU) by 2022-23 has raised concerns. Undoubtedly, the proposal is influenced by the National Education Policy, which advocates for common entrance examinations by the National Testing Agency for undergraduate and graduate admissions and fellowships. Such a concept is not alien to CU. More than a dozen CUs admit students to undergraduate programs using the Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUCET) scores. The proposed CUET, in 13 languages, seeks to make it mandatory for 45 CUs – there are 54 such institutions – to conduct admissions using a single national level test score. This will save the candidates from taking multiple entrance exams and will also eliminate the unfair advantage gained by disproportionate marks in class XII. Clearly critics are viewing this development through the prism of the Narendra Modi government’s obsession to advance the principle of ‘one nation, one standard’ in various sectors. But in early 1984, the Madhuri R. Shah committee, looking at the functioning of CU, recommended a national qualifying examination. In the present case, the UGC has clarified that the existing scheme of reservation in individual universities will not be disrupted.
Nevertheless, CUET may not qualify as an exhaustive determinant of merit given the educational and regional disparities in India. While a vast majority study in state boards, the exam will be based on the NCERT syllabus, which is mainly followed in CBSE schools. The policy limits Class XII marks as the qualifying benchmark and not as a co-determinant of merit. With the commencement of exams just before the admission session, students whose learning process was disrupted by COVID-19 may find it challenging. The education ministers of Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh have flagged some legitimate concerns. In the North-East, the argument about the test affecting the interest of the domiciles of the state to secure admission in a university in this region cannot be ignored. There are genuine apprehensions about CUET which is acting as a harbinger to launch a nationwide entrance test for all undergraduate courses – UGC has said that all institutes are free to use the test scores for admission . It has been adequately demonstrated that the Common Entrance Test gives rise to the coaching industry and inspires cost-heavy hybrid courses from Class VI onwards, creating a divide between the rich and the underprivileged. The country has miles to go to enable access to entry-level higher education and bridge the gender and economic gap in its university portals. In such circumstances, it needs to be objectively examined whether it is practical to prescribe a single entrance test as the sole determinant of merit, either for CU or for the higher education system as a whole.