[Answered] The Common University Entrance Test (CUET) will provide a level playing field for students from all boards. Keeping in mind the past experiences of common entrance tests, highlight the significance and challenges associated with CUET.

The university admissions system has been damaged with very high admission cutoffs for many subjects/institutions, students from those examination boards which award high marks have an advantage over those that award low marks. CUET exam is a step to mitigate these issues. This exam is conducted for admission to Undergraduate, postgraduate, and research programs at several centrally-funded universities. The candidates, qualifying CUET 2022 Exam, can get admission to UG and PG programs in various renowned Universities across the country.

Significance:

• Uniformity: There is a huge trust deficit and suspicion about the academic quality of students of different state boards. It provides uniformity as well as quality standards for all.
• Level-playing field: It will give opportunities for various state board students to take admission to renowned institutions.
• Unrealistic Cutoffs: The current pattern has led to generation of unrealistic cutoffs in many universities e.g., many colleges of Delhi University released their first cutoff at 100%.
• Second Chance: It would give students another opportunity to show their potential even if they are unable to score well in board examinations.
• It would avoid subjective biases, cherish objectivity and quantify and measure one’s mental aptitude and domain knowledge in a specific discipline.

Challenges:

• Reduce relevance of Board Examinations: With CUET in place, students might pay less attention to 12th class syllabus and school learning. They would focus on CUET and may even start skipping their regular classes.
• Far from learning and unlearning with joy, wonder and creativity, young students may become strategists or exam-warriors. The “objective” tests diminish creative exploration, interpretative understanding and self-reflexivity.
• Burden on the Marginalized Section: Some academics have expressed fear that CUET will result in additional expenditure towards coaching. This would put financial strain on the marginalized section.

It is necessary to address the problems associated with board examinations as envisioned by the National Education Policy. The CUET can help in curtailing the divide created by evaluation methodology of different education boards in the country. However, a greater degree of equity can be infused only when the issues surrounding CUET are duly addressed in a timely manner.