Erosion of education, say experts: Will CBSE board become irrelevant after CUET?

The Common University Entrance Test (CUET) UG 2022 will begin from tomorrow, July 15. Education experts feel that CBSE and the continuous assessment now remains relevant only for those students who want to compete at the level of JEE, NEET or for IIT.

The answer is simple. Not completely. It is advised that students do not simply depend only on giving entrance exams for these 90 central universities, of which 19 are private ones. However, education experts say CBSE and the continuous assessment now remains relevant only for those students who want to compete at the level of JEE, NEET or for IIT. Now, the class 10 exam will remain the only crucial level of test for a student.

"Class 11 and class 12 are when students dwell deeper into selected subjects, CUET has removed that relevance. Board exams were also done in two parts, this time during the pandemic. Basically, it is about continuous evolution. Teachers also take assignments - the focus of the school remains class 11 and 12, the focus of the schools will also be eroded now," said Abha, an educationist based in Delhi.

Education experts also lament that an MCQ answer format doesn't test real knowledge and is going to lead to dilution of expertise in the end.

But the introduction of CUET has not reduced the fear of high cut-offs often seen in scuffles over seats at the prestigious Delhi University. "There is a gap between demand and supply. The completion will still be for 1.5 lakh seats, of which about 70,000 seats at Delhi University."

"Most universities will begin their courses by 15 September or towards the end of September," said Abha.

But many have started to book their seats in private universities due to the uncertainty. A letter in this regard was written by the secretary of UGC universities stating, that " it has come to notice that some universities have started registration in UG courses for session 2022-23 students from CBSE will be deprived of admission to UG courses if the last date is fixed by the universities prior to CBSE result declaration."

State boards continue to remain at a disadvantage when compared with the central board. When the concept was mooted, there were 42 universities that had opposed CUET, citing further complications in the admission process for universities.