With Class 12 exams cancelled, varsities to discuss ways to tweak undergraduate admission process

With the government announcing the cancellation of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) class 12 examinations on Tuesday, higher educational institutions in the national capital will discuss and formalise changes, if any, that will be needed in the process of admission to undergraduate courses, in view of the change in the assessment pattern

With the government announcing the cancellation of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) class 12 examinations on Tuesday, higher educational institutions in the national capital will discuss and formalise changes, if any, that will be needed in the process of admission to undergraduate courses, in view of the change in the assessment pattern.

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While Jamia Millia Islamia conducts entrance tests for its undergraduate courses, Delhi University and Ambedkar University have a merit-based admission process, whereby students are admitted on the basis of class 12 marks and the cut-offs set, also on the basis of the class 12 results. In Jawaharlal Nehru University, admissions to undergraduate language courses happen through entrance tests and interviews.

The cancellation of class 12 board exams also leaves open the possibility of conducting the Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUCET) for admissions to 63 colleges of Delhi University. Last December, the Union ministry of education had formed a committee to look into the modalities of a common entrance test for undergraduate courses at all central universities, in accordance with the National Education Policy, 2020. The committee has submitted its report and universities are currently waiting for the ministry’s response on it.

Acting vice-chancellor PC Joshi, who is a member of the Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUCET) committee, said the university will now wait for the CBSE criteria for compiling class 12 results. “Since there will be no exams, CBSE would be evaluating students through well-defined criteria. We will discuss the matter with our admissions committee and academic council, if needed, and decide on how to proceed. The university too has to adjust to the situation. Safety of our students is most important.”

Last year, DU started the online admission process on June 20 and announced the first cut-off on October 10 while classes started in November, disrupting the entire academic cycle. Generally, the university declares cut-offs around four to six weeks after the CBSE results and that of several state boards are out.

Manoj Sinha, secretary of DU Principal Association (DUPA) and principal of Aryabhatta College, said the admission process will become “complex”. “Some sort of screening should be there to make the process fair. Otherwise, when students are evaluated on the basis of internal marks, the line between deserving and non-deserving candidates can get blurred.”

Anu Singh Lather, vice-chancellor of Ambedkar University, said, “We were waiting for a decision on the board exams to decide on our admission process. As far as CBSE’s alternative assessment options are concerned, we don’t feel it will lead to much of a difference in results. CBSE has adopted a continuous evaluation process in its schools; so internal marks will not vary much.”