DU Evaluates Entrance Test Alternatives For Undergraduate Admissions

The central universities common entry test (CUCET), authorities at Delhi University (DU) said they are looking into other ways to handle undergraduate admissions this year in case the merit-based enrolling process must continue, due to the uncertain situation that arose from the pandemic. However, the central universities common admission test (CUCET) is still unclear.

Officials stated the university is working on a mechanism to bring all school boards up to speed, as they have adopted different evaluation procedures this year as a result of the cancellation of Class 12 exams after the country was hit by the second wave of Covid-19.

Due to the unique scenario, DU vice-chancellor P C Joshi said the institution is still hoping that the Centre will announce the CUTET's conduct this year. There is still a chance that CUCET will be held. However, if this does not occur and the university believes that some boards' assessment criteria are more lenient than others, they will need to devise a policy to bring all students to the same level. It will be difficult, but cannot fail the students. He also said that they are working on it and should have something by the end of the week. By the end of this month, the University may begin the admissions registration procedure.

In the event that there is a significant disparity in the results of some education boards, a senior official at the university who did not want to be identified stated the university is looking into using the "percentile" method for admissions.

A percentile represents the percentage of students on the merit list who are ahead of him or her. For example, if a student's result is in the 90th percentile, it signifies that he or she outperformed 90% of those who took the exam. Admission to various other disciplines in India, including engineering and business administration, is based on the same criterion.

The official mentioned that they are looking into the idea of implementing a percentile system. If there is a significant disparity between the results of different boards, they will have to consider other options for adjusting students' grades as different education boards have chosen different evaluation methodologies, and is a strong chance that this situation may arise.

While the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) opted to evaluate students in a 30:30:40 ratio based on their performance in classes 10, 11, and 12, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) is looking at students' performances in classes 9 to 12.

Various state boards have also chosen different assessment methodologies. Even while Haryana and Uttar Pradesh boards examine marks from classes 10, 11, and 12 in the same way that CBSE does, their weighting standards are different. While Haryana gives class 12 performance 60 percent of the weighting, UP only gives it 10%. Students in Class 12 will be given marks by the Odisha board based on their performance.

Officials said it will be difficult for the university to admit students based on their absolute score due to differences in school boards' evaluation methodologies. The principal belonging from a college of a north campus stated that Setting the cut-off this year will be extremely difficult, as the majority of boards are likely to award higher scores. As a result, the cut-off is projected to stay high. However, Lady Shri Ram College announced the highest cut-off of 100 percent for three disciplines last year.