NTA likely to bring key changes in CUET-UG examinations

New Delhi: The National Testing Agency (NTA) is likely to introduce key changes in the entrance examination for undergraduate university courses from this year, including a switch from a computer-based to a hybrid mode, and reduction in the number of subjects a candidate may choose, a top official said on Saturday.
NTA , which conducts the Common University Entrance Test for Undergraduate Admissions (CUET-UG), is set use the optical mark recognition format written in pen on paper for the most popular subjects and restrict the number of subjects a student may choose to six from the current 10, the official said. The agency conducts the entrance test for undergraduate medical programmes in the pen and paper format using OMR sheets.
The second edition of the CUET-UG will be held between May 15 and May 31 and registration will begin next week. There won’t be any change in the format of the test papers and the marking scheme.
“The NTA will conduct exams of subjects having a high number of registration in pen and paper mode using OMR sheets like the NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) exam. This way we will be able to conduct exams of all main subjects in one day across the country,” said M Jagadesh Kumar, chairman of the University Grants Commission, the higher education overseer. “The exam for subjects with fewer registrations will continue to be held in the computer-based format .”
The most popular subjects include English, Hindi, Urdu, mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, history and political science, among others. Last year, over 1.4 million students registered for CUET-UG, with the maximum applications received for English, followed by Hindi and Urdu.
This year the testing agency will use schools, colleges and other educational institutions as exam centres, Kumar said, unlike earlier when only centres equipped with a large number of computers were used.
“Students were allotted centres far from their homes because of the unavailability of equipped centres in some parts of the country,” he said. “Now, students will be allotted centres near their homes. The NTA already has a database of examination centres for NEET, so it won’t be an issue.”
By adopting the hybrid mode for the test, the agency will complete the exams and declare results in the first or second week of June. “This will help universities to start their admission process early,” Kumar said. Last year, the agency had to extend the exam by a week due to a large number of candidates in some cities.
The testing agency will also reduce the maximum number of subjects students can opt for from 10 to six this year. “It has been noticed that less than 10% of students chose more than six subjects, and it was creating complexity in allotting centres,” Kumar said. “The exam will be conducted in three shifts every day, with sufficient time gap between each shift.”