JEE (Main), NEET to be merged with CUET for students’ benefit: UGC Chief

• Image Credit: Indian Express

• Aug 13, 2022 | Kabir Chakraborty

As the UGC and NTA have not imposed any restrictions on the number of attempts, this will enable hopefuls several opportunities to show up for the entrance exam and not miss any possibilities, according to the UGC chairman.

Digital Desk: The University Grants
Commission (UGC) is preparing to set up an expert committee to look into
options to integrate the engineering and medical entrance exams with the Common
University Entrance Test (CUET-UG) starting in the following academic year.

Bringing
JEE (Main) and NEET within the greater purview of CUET, according to UGC
chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar, will lessen the burden on students, and the plan
is in line with the National Education Policy, 2020. NEET is the entrance exam
for all undergraduate medical programmes, and JEE (Main) is the entrance exam
for admission to the nation's top engineering institutions.

From 2023 to 2024, the CUET-UG, which
is presently in progress, will probably be held at least twice a year,
according to Kumar, who also noted that a common entry should eventually be
created to do away with the requirement to appear in different entrances.

"With
the addition of CUET, there are now three major admission exams offered in the
nation: NEET, JEE, and CUET. The majority of students take at least two of
these tests, and some choose to write all three. Math, Physics, and Chemistry
are the subjects covered in JEE while Biology, Physics, and Chemistry are
covered in NEET. Therefore, two disciplines are taught there frequently and are
also used in CUET for university entrance. So, why should we subject the
students to multiple entrance examinations,” he told  mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-theme-font:major-fareast;
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When will the exams be merged?

The head of the UGC has made it clear
that the plan has not yet been finalised and that he wants to make sure the
National Testing Agency (NTA) and all other relevant parties are well-prepared
before the new common admission test is introduced to students. The UGC will
first convene an expert committee to review the current admission examination
procedures. Additionally, they will consider the feasibility of a combined,
unified CUET and make recommendations. Following that, these proposals will be
made available for stakeholder feedback, and the recommendations will then be
finalised, according to Kumar.

It will also mentally prepare students
and other stakeholders that there is such a possibility and nothing will come
as a surprise, the UGC Chief said. "When you look at the time frame, we
have just started this discussion and even if you want to hold it next year, there
is one year's time," the UGC Chief said.

Kumar
further mentioned that starting the following year, the CUET exam might be
offered more than once. "Perhaps in the upcoming year or the following
year, let's have one common entrance examination, but conduct it several times
in a year, maybe twice in a year, so that students will have the option to do
it again and acquire admission in subjects of their choice," he suggested.

As the UGC and NTA have not imposed
any restrictions on the number of attempts, this will enable hopefuls several
opportunities to show up for the entrance exam and not miss any possibilities,
according to the UGC chairman.

Combined entrance test syllabus

The NTA
will be given instructions to closely adhere to the class 12 syllabus for all
disciplines, including the courses connected to JEE and NEET, and the new and
redefined CUET-UG would also follow the NCERT syllabus. As a result, Kumar
claimed, students will perform better and experience less stress.

In spite of the fact that NEET and JEE have
contributed significantly to the coaching culture in our nation, Kumar noted
that "as long as we make sure that we stick to the syllabus that the
students have studied, over time students will come to know that if they can
study well for their board examinations and focus on becoming a good learner,
then that should help them in doing well in CUET."

Controversy over poor conduct of
CUET

Due
to technical difficulties, the NTA has received criticism for being unable to
effectively administer the CUET-UG 2022 phase two exam at a number of testing
locations. Students are now concerned that integrating these three significant
entry tests into one will put additional strain on the NTA and could have
unintended consequences.

The UGC chairman, however, said that
the NTA had learned from the events of August 4 and had already fixed all of
its mistakes. Additionally, the NTA will now establish particular exam centres
across the nation that will be furnished with computers and other necessities
as well as controlled by the NTA. These NTA exam centres, in addition to other
well-known centres, will be used specifically for these exams.

When
the NTA is not holding a test there, "these centres can then be used as
training centres" to make use of the space, he said.