DU: confusion persists over common entrance test  

Many changes in the pipeline; university says it will benefit students, teachers question implementation

Admissions to undergraduate courses in Delhi University this year will be on the basis of CUET (Common University Entrance Test) scores and the first batch of the newly introduced four-year Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF) will have options of multiple entries and exits during the course of the programme.  

Even as students remain wary of the admission procedure under the National Education Policy (NEP), Delhi University, in its centenary year, has decided to do away with the previous admission policy based on cut-off marks.

DU Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh has said there is no need to worry as CUET 2022 will be based on Class XII syllabus and those who studied hard for their board exams will be able do well. 

“The changes have been made for the benefit of the students. Admission via CUET will enable equal access to enrolment in various courses; UGCF will provide the flexibility to choose the disciplines and promote internationalisation as the NEP seeks to align the undergraduate curriculum with global standards,” Mr. Singh said. 

The critics are, however, sceptical about the changes to be introduced within such a short time span. They feel students who suffered anxiety and faced uncertainty during the last two years of the pandemic may find it challenging to imbibe the sudden change.   

The Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF) has questioned the implementation of UGCF during the academic year 2022-23. “If at all the changes are acceptable, the universities are left with very little time to prepare a robust curriculum. Online teaching during pandemic has impacted the learning among the current batch of Class XII students and it is not fair to hurriedly impose CUET and UGCF on them,” read a statement issued by the DTF. 

Members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students’ Association (AISA) fear that switching to CUET scores for admission will lead to mushrooming of coaching centres for the competitive exam. They said the introduction of CUET will orient the students towards preparing for the competitive exam instead of focusing on the last two academic years in school.