New Delhi: After the delay in the declaration of CBSE results, the issues of conducting the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) have added to the woes of students who had passed class 12 in 2022 and now want to enroll in undergraduate courses.
The second phase of Nationwide CUET, is about to end August 10Due has been pushed back to August 28 technical fault at multiple exam centers
Professors from universities across India claim that, as a result, the admission process and the academic period (2022-23) are likely to be pushed back to October. Earlier, admissions for undergraduate courses used to end between the first half of June and July, with the academic session starting in the second half of July or August.
According to professors, a two-month delay could lead to fewer holidays, and shorter academic sessions, as well as put pressure on students to complete large parts of their syllabus in less time.
From this year, a total of 44 central universities, 12 state universities, 11 deemed-to-be universities and 19 private universities decision made To access the results of CUET-UG for admission.
Around 14.9 lakh candidates were expected to appear for the exam this year – 8.1 lakh in the first phase and 6.8 lakh in the second phase.
ThePrint reached out to Vineet Joshi, director of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts CUET, via call and text for comment on concerns about the delay, but did not receive a response till the time of publication. This report will be updated upon receipt of feedback.
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Fewer holidays, delay in PG admissions
University of Hyderabad vice-chancellor Professor BJ Rao believes that the upcoming academic session may be delayed by six-eight weeks, and may start only in October.
“Delay was expected with CUET as it is a nationwide common exam being conducted for the first time. However, as a result of this, the session will be pushed back to October with the second half of October being finalized,” Rao told ThePrint.
He said that to make up for the time lost, we may have to reduce winter and summer vacations, as we did during the COVID period.
Professor Ajay Dubey, rector at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi said, “We have already gone into preparation mode and found the right people to conduct the counseling session. We will start the process as soon as the CUET-UG results will be declared and the session will start in October, if there is no further delay. ,
Dubey, however, said he is concerned about admissions for postgraduate courses, adding that “the examinations are yet to be announced and a large number of universities will be using CUET for these admissions”.
Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi has eight subjects – BA (Hons) Hindi, BA (Hons) Sanskrit, BA (Hons) French, BA (Hons) Spanish, BA (Hons) Economics, BA (Hons) History, BSc Biotechnology and BVOC ( solar energy) — were brought Within the ambit of CUET
While classes have begun for other courses, guidelines from the University Grants Commission (UGC) and NTA for these eight courses are awaited, a university spokesperson said on condition of anonymity.
Dr Rajesh Singh, a spokesperson of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), expressed similar concern: “Even if the admission dates are announced, the academic session will begin only after all seats in the main courses are filled.”
Delhi University officials also claim that they expect the new academic session to begin in the second half of September or October, but say that a buffer is sometimes kept in place to accommodate such unforeseen circumstances.
“Even if the admission is late, no student will face problems in their academics. The batch of 2020 was the most affected due to the pandemic, their academic session started in December, but those students have also been given their results on time,” DU registrar Vikas Gupta told ThePrint.
He said DU will start its admission process for undergraduate courses “in September”, adding that counseling for foreign students will “start very soon”.
Professor Amitesh Kumar of Allahabad University said that with ambiguity on how schools in central universities will set up their admission criteria, the process will be a long drawn out.
“Since CUET is a new exam, we still do not know what the cut-off will look like for different schools. For example, DU colleges usually have different cut-offs for different courses. How will it be determined along with the CUET score? ” He asked.
‘Uneasiness among students’
Professor Ali Raza Moosevi of Karnataka Central University expressed concern over the cut in academic sessions.
Stating that the content of subjects has been “very diluted” due to the National Education Policy, Moosevi said that with the academic session expected to start in October or November, students will barely be able to study all 90 days in a quarter . “How much teaching can be done in such a short time?” He asked.
on one general body meeting On August 10, JNU professors had expressed concern over the delay in admissions.
They demanded that the university “withdraw from the agreement with the NTA and immediately reinstate JNU’s own time-tested admission procedures and institutional framework such as the Standing Committee on Admissions”.
Admitting that the delay with CUET is “rather unfortunate”, JNU Rector Professor Ajay Dubey said that “the decision to implement CUET was taken by the Academic and Executive Council of JNU”.
“It cannot be reversed that easily. Moreover, it is to be noted that the JNU entrance exam conducted earlier was also conducted by NTA,” he said.
Mithunraj Dhusia, member of DU’s academic council, believes that the delay in admissions will not only force students to shift to private colleges or institutes, but will also add to their anxiety as they will be able to cover large academic portions in a short span of time. want to cover.
He said that students can return to the central university once the admission process resumes, but only after spending extra money to get a private seat.
“It is difficult to predict when classes will resume, given that admissions take at least a month. We can clearly see the anxiety in the students, they feel pressure to cram the material in less time,” he said. “Last year’s season was delayed due to Covid but this year there is no justification for mismanagement.”
(Edited by Amritansh Arora)
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