Delhi University intake to be based on Common University Entrance Test scores

Class XII Board exam marks no longer matter

Marks obtained in Class XII Board examinations will no longer play a role in the admission process at Delhi University which was earlier the sole criteria for admission.

A day after the University Grants Commission (UGC) made it mandatory for all 45 Central universities to admit students to undergraduate courses based on scores obtained in the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), the Academic Council of Delhi University on Tuesday passed a proposal that admissions will be based only on the scores obtained in the CUET.

A report by a Standing Committee of the Academic Council said it would not be feasible to include any criterion on the marks obtained in the Board examinations. It added that in case the subject studied at the Class XII level is not mentioned in the CUET, the candidate must appear for a subject that is similar/closely related to the subject he/she had studied in Class XII. The minimum eligibility will now be a passing mark in the Class XII examination or an equivalent from a single recognised board.

Some members of the Academic Council, expressing dissent, said admission through the CUET result was an additional expenditure of parents and students towards coaching and therefore marginalised those coming from disadvantageous backgrounds.

They said admissions to the UG courses through entrance would mean complete erosion of Classes XI and XII, and wipe out the importance of formative assessment. Students, they said, might not want to study five subjects in any department in their most crucial years of school as they would focus on preparing for entrance tests.

UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar, while announcing that the CUET would be mandatory for UG admissions at all Central universities, had argued that the test would provide equal opportunities to candidates across the country from different Boards and those from rural and remote areas.

He said a single examination would reduce the financial burden on parents as students would not have to sit for multiple entrance examinations to study at a Central university.