India is seeing a shift in history: for the first time, 45 central universities across the nation are coming together to adopt a single entrance test to grant admission based on scores and merit.
This entrance test, known as the Central University Entrance Test (CUET), will be the basis for granting students admission for the academic year 2022-2023.
The primary objective behind the test was to eliminate the alarmingly increasing pressure on students to score next to perfect scores in the Class 12th Board examinations.
These scores will alone determine which students attain admissions to undergraduate programs offered by prestigious central universities across India.
According to reports from a recent survey, the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) 2019-20, almost four crore students were attaining higher education in India.
The immense pool of undergraduate students enrolled in various educational institutes would benefit them due to an overhaul in the existing admission process, particularly for the universities that offered admission keeping the Class 12th board results in view.
Thus, students looking to obtain admission to the 45 major central universities in the country will have to take the CUET exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), expected to take place in July.
The admission procedures and all other processes pertaining to the exam will be conducted entirely online, and the exam itself will be computer-based to avoid any discrepancies or errors.
The online application portal has been opened from 2nd April for students to enroll and is expected to remain so until 30th April 2022.
Although the CUET exam test scores are a prerequisite for admission to these 45 universities, each university holds the liberty to come up with its own admission policy, designating specific weightage to different exam results.
Each university must make public the minimum eligibility criteria for admission to its programs and the seat intake and counseling procedures offered for each degree program.
Therefore, the admission process beyond the scope of CUET 2022 will remain decentralized and subject to change as per the decisions of different universities.
NTA has also advised students to be aware of the required eligibility criteria of their desired universities in its official notice and go through the undergraduate programs elsewhere.
It can be seen that the higher education regulator, University Grants Commission (UGC), is also prompting state and private universities to join hands and make CUET their official admission requirement as well.
Eight highly renowned universities, including the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Gandhigram Rural Institute, Gandhigram; Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad; Dindigul Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Agra; Gurukul Kangri, Avinashilingam Institute of Home Sciences, Coimbatore; Haridwar; Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad; and Ramakrishna Vivekananda Educational Research Institute, Kolkata have expressed an inclination to participate in this single entrance test for all.
CUET 2022 Syllabus
The CUET 2022 examination is set to be conducted in 27 domain-particular exams, 13 language tests (out of which students will have to opt for one as a compulsion), and another group of 19 languages which are optional for aspirants.
Each candidate is required to attempt language from the Section 1A as a compulsion, where the 13 available options include the following:
1. Tamil
2. Telugu
3. Kannada
4. Malayalam
5. Gujarati
6. Marathi
7. Odiya
8. Bengali
9. Assamese
10. Hindi
11. Punjabi
12. Urdu
13. English
Section 1B includes the optional languages for candidates seeking undergraduate degrees in languages not mentioned in Section 1A. These languages include the following:
1. French
2. German
3. Spanish
4. Nepali
5. Persian
6. Arabic
7. Italian
8. Sindhi
9. Sanskrit
10. Kashmiri
11. Bodo
12. Konkani
13. Dogri
14. Maithili
15. Manipuri
16. Tibetan
17. Santhali
18. Japanese
19. Russian
20. Chinese
It is generally advised that students choose the subjects they already hold prowess in and have studied in their most recent Class 12th board examinations.
However, the NTA official notice also states that if a university expresses flexibility in this regard, the same can be implemented under the CUET (UG) 2022 examination.
It is, therefore, not mandatory to choose options from each section, as the choices must be at par with the requirements a student’s desired university poses.
In addition, students with a science background who studied subjects like chemistry, mathematics, and physics are eligible to seek admission in history honors if a university allows entry on the basis of PCM scores.
However, if the university requires general aptitude test scores as a basis for admission to history programs, students will have to sit in that exam.
Since there are many subjects available across state boards, including the Indian School Certificate Exam and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), NTA has allowed students to undertake courses closely associated with the ones they took in Class 12th.
In case a subject that a student wishes to undertake as an undergraduate course is not present in the list of 27 domain-specific subjects being offered, a candidate can choose the subject closely associated with his/her choice.
For instance, a biochemistry aspirant can opt for biology.
Syllabus For CUET Exam Sections
The CUET exam comprises four sections, with the first split into two portions: an objective type exam pattern and a multiple-choice questions section.
As discussed before, the syllabus for these sections would be:
Section 1: Languages
Divided into:
Section 1A: 13 Languages
Section 1B: 20 Additional Languages
Language would be tested primarily through reading comprehension and based on the different kinds of passages that may be literary, narrative, or factual.
Section 2: Domain-Specific Subject List
The domain-specific list includes 27 domains, and students can choose six except for those who choose three languages. The syllabus would be benchmarked at the level of Grade 12 only, and students who study the Class 12 syllabus in detail will undoubtedly do well on the exam.
However, it is common for NCERT books to be designed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training, which is primarily undertaken in CBSE-affiliated schools.
Since most of such schools are private, the test may prove difficult for students hailing from state boards who adopt NCERT books for major subjects like science and mathematics only.
Questions would primarily be from the NCERT model syllabus applicable to only Class 12th.
The 27 domain-specific subject list is as follows:
1. Accountancy or book-keeping
2. Biology or biological studies or biotechnology
3. Business Studies
4. History
5. Home Science
6. Knowledge
7. Psychology
8. Sociology
9. Knowledge tradition–practices in India
10. Teaching aptitude
11. Chemistry
12. Computer science or informatics practices
13. Economics or business economics
14. Engineering graphics
15. Legal studies
16. Commercial arts
17. Mathematics
18. Physical education or NCC
19. Agriculture
20. Mass media or mass communication
21. Anthropology
22. Fine arts or visual arts (sculpture or painting)
23. Entrepreneurship
24. Geography
25. Physics
26. Political Science
27. Performing Arts
28. Sanskrit
Section 3: General Aptitude
The general aptitude portion does not have a fixed syllabus and would include questions related to general knowledge, current affairs, and assessments that analyze numerical ability, quantitative reasoning, general mental ability of students, arithmetic, mensuration, analytical and logical reasoning, algebra geometry, and statistics taught until Class 8.
Is CUET Exam Compulsory For BHU 2022?
Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has explicitly announced that admission for the various undergraduate degree programs at the university will be conducted on the basis of the Common Universities Entrance Test (CUET), making it a compulsion for students who wish to attain admission there.
Admission to BHU in the past was based on the Undergraduate Entrance Test (UET) in the past. But now, students are required to satisfy different criteria for admission to different programs, as prescribed by the university.
Students can undertake various courses, but the eligibility criteria may vary. Therefore, students are advised to select the language, general test, and domain-specific subjects as per their respective programs.
It is crucial to note that the National Testing Agency would not take any responsibility for choosing the topics, programs, eligibility conditions, or criteria.
Although admissions to the undergraduate courses at BHU are based on a student’s performance in the CUET exam, they must also satisfy the eligibility criteria depicted by the four parameters mentioned below:
1. Educational qualification
2. Minimum qualifying exam score
3. Required subjects in CUET
4. Age Limit
Students who do not satisfy these parameters are not eligible for admission to BHU.
That is it for today, you can find all the latest CUET guide books to boost your preparations here : https://oswaalbooks.com/collections/competitive-entrance-exams/cuetug-2022
ALL THE BEST!
