The Association of Indian Universities (AIU) said it prefers the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for admission to undergraduate programmes to remain an option for colleges and varsities of the country, according to an official statement. “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,” Pankaj Mittal , AIU secretary general, said.
Mittal recognised the resistance to the recently implemented CUET system for degree courses in the Northeast region, even though numerous institutions nationwide have adopted it, the statement mentioned. “We believe that it’s a beneficial system. Its purpose is to alleviate the students’ difficulties by enabling them to appear in a single exam, i.e., CUET. However, I have heard that the Indian government has announced it as an optional system for universities,” she stated.
The number of universities adopting the CUET has risen to 206, with 44 central and 33 state universities among them. This is a significant increase from the previous year, where only 90 institutes had adopted the system, the statement said. Last year in March, the University Grants Commission (UGC) announced that admission to undergraduate courses in all central universities would be based on a common entrance test, rather than Class 12 marks, it added.
“A host of VCs from universities like JNU, IGNOU, Symbiosis International, University of Massachusetts, Bharti Vidyapith, University of Hyderabad, and Directors of IITs, IISc, AICTE, NAAC, ICAR, ACU and IIIT will be joining this mega conference,” Mittal said.