Streamlining the admission process to all undergraduate programmes in all central universities, the Ministry of Education recently announced the Common University Entry Test (CUET-UG 2022). No sooner than the announcement, arguments for and against raising the decibels were made. The government argues that the CUET will provide a common platform and equal opportunity to candidates across the country, especially those from rural and other remote areas.
Those against the CUET have valid reservations. The CUET is not an issue, per se. Its hurried implementation with effect from the session 2022-23 has added to the woes of the current batch of board examinees who have experienced the worst in the last two years. As in previous years, their board examination marks could have served the purpose of admission to UG programmes, saving them the rigour of at least one entrance amongst a slew of such tests they will appear for.
However, the primary concern remains that the CUET preparation will open yet another avenue for the thriving coaching culture that has plagued the country for a long time. The NEP 2020 acknowledges that “the current nature of secondary school exams, including Board exams and entrance exams—and the resulting coaching culture of today—are doing much harm, especially at the secondary-school level, replacing valuable time for true learning with excessive exam coaching and preparation. These exams also force students to learn a very narrow band of material in a single stream, rather than allowing the flexibility and choice that will be so important in the education system of the future.” (NEP 2020, 4.36). It is not surprising that within days of the announcement of the CUET, hoardings, advertisements and WhatsApp messages offering crash courses and model papers began to fill the media space.
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