Common University Entrance Test won’t solve the real problems

News: University Grants Commission (UGC) recently announced the introduction of the Central University Entrance Test (CUET), which is now mandatory for undergraduate admission at any of the 45 central universities in the country.

What is the need for a centralised entrance test like CUET?

In India there is an uneven quality of different school boards due to which there is a huge trust deficit and suspicion about the academic quality of even the toppers. A centralised mode of ranking and evaluation through the CUET promises an “objective” and “value-neutral” measurable index for selecting and eliminating young aspirants for different courses.

Furthermore, this centralised test would free the tension-ridden youngsters from the pressure of writing multiple entrance tests in different colleges/universities.

What are the limitations of such standardised testing?

The dominant structure of education prevalent in the country is essentially book-centric and exam-oriented. Rote learning or strategic learning (a gift of coaching centres) is its essence. It is far from learning and unlearning with joy, wonder and creativity, young students become strategists or exam-warriors. Under these circumstances, true learning suffers.

MCQ-centric “objective” tests are not suitable for the domain of humanities and social sciences as they involve subjective and diverse interpretation. Young students are deprived of the hermeneutic art of interpretation and skill of argumentation, and compelled to reduce everything into an “objective” fact. In such a scenario, children will lose the power of creative articulation, and culture of debate and contestation.

What is the way forward?

Meaningful learning is not just about exams. In fact, truly meaningful learning takes place outside the parameters of the official texts and curriculum, wherein teachers inspire students to see beyond the syllabus.

Hence, for real transformation, we must a) see beyond the CUET, b) work on the quality of schools and creatively nuanced life-affirming pedagogy; and c) think of honest and fair recruitment of spirited teachers, and relative autonomy of academic institutions, d) learn to value the uniqueness of each child

Source: This post is based on the article “Common University Entrance Test won’t solve the real problems” published in The Indian Express on 29th Mar 22.