CBSE Class 12 board exam result or CUCET? DU has 3 admission plans

NEW DELHI: As lakhs of students await a concrete decision on Class 12 board exams 2021, Delhi University has planned for all possible outcomes too. It is not just students who have their eyes trained on the Supreme Court case and the final decision on holding the CISCE, CBSE Class 12 exams during the COVID-19 pandemic. Universities like DU are watching it too and planning their admission process accordingly.

Delhi University, a large and popular central university which admits students based on Class 12 scores, has formulated three plans of action for DU admission 2021. Depending on the education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank's' decision on June 1 and the verdict of the Supreme Court on June 3, DU will adopt its own admission policy.

LIVE UPDATES | CBSE Class 12 Board Exam 2021 Cancellation: Government will take big decision on June 3

A public interest litigation (PIL) case filed in the Supreme Court seeks directions to cancel the Class 12 board exams conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE). At present, offline exams for both have been postponed but not cancelled.

A DU official also said that because of the delays in the CBSE, ISC and other Class 12 board exams, there will be a “clash” in the schedules of two DU batches in 2021.

DU Admission 2021: Three Plans

“Currently, we have three contingency plans for admissions this year and ultimately the decision will depend on what the [education] ministry decides on June 3,” Pinki Sharma, dean of admissions, told Careers360. “As per NEP 2020 [National Education Policy], if the education minister asks NTA [National Testing Agency] to conduct the Central Universities Common Entrance Test [CUCET], we are ready to give 100 percent weightage to the entrance exam scores.”

The CUCET is an all-India entrance test for admission to undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes in a section of central and state universities. At present, it is conducted by a different central university each year. The (CBSE) is expected to take a final decision on the CBSE Class 12 exams by Thursday. If the exams are conducted, DU intends to keep the Class 12 scores as a factor in the admission process for new students.

“Our Vice-Chancellor has planned to give 50 percent weightage to CUCET scores and 50 percent weightage to Class 12 scores. If the board exams are conducted and NTA decides to conduct the entrance test as well, then this plan will be implemented,” Sharma further added.

In case, the CUCET is not held or the National Testing Agency does not organise it, DU will conduct the admission process as usual based on Class 12 scores alone. “If the NTA does not conduct the CUCET exam but the Class 12 board exams are conducted, we will admit students based on their Class 12 marks and for seven undergraduate courses we will conduct the DU entrance test,” Sharma elaborated.

CBSE Class 12 exams, DU admission

CBSE Class 12 exams 2021 were scheduled to be held from May 4 to June 14, 2021. In April, the exams were postponed due to the sudden rise in coronavirus cases. The education minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ had announced the Centre would review the situation and decide on the matter on June 1. However, the delay in Class 12 board exams dates due to coronavirus have ramifications for the curriculum.

“Last year, the admission process concluded on December 31. The delay in admission caused many problems. We started the semester on January 1 but due to the COVID cases, classes could not be conducted properly. We wanted to conduct the semester exam for 10 days but the exams were also delayed. Due to this the classes for upcoming batches and the existing batch are bound to clash,” Sharma explained.

The exams were earlier scheduled to start from May 15 but were postponed to June 1 owing to the surge in COVID-19 cases. On May 20, the DU postponed semester exams for final-year undergraduate and postgraduate students for the second time to be conducted on June 7. The university plans to conduct the exams in an open-book format in online mode.

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