NITI Aayog member defends CUET's MCQ pattern, says universities should test intelligence

Amid the ongoing debate over the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), NITI Aayog member Gobardhan Das has defended the use of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) for university entrance examinations. He believes that the format effectively assesses candidates' intelligence over rote learning. In conversation with PTI, Das said the MCQ pattern is suitable even for premier institutions such as Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), where admissions should be based on a candidate's reasoning ability and aptitude rather than language proficiency or memorised knowledge.

"Multiple-choice questions format for entrance exams is not ill-suited for universities such as Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) as universities need to test your intelligence, not what you have mugged up. If you cannot connect two or three things, you really cannot answer the questions," Das said.

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'MCQs are practical, effective'

Explaining how MCQs are practical and effective assessment tool, he said that it enable universities to evaluate a wider range of competencies within a limited time. Describing it as an 'innovative idea', he said, "MCQ is always preferred in university entrance examinations because, in less time, you can assess many aspects of candidates."

CUET examination pattern has drawn criticism from sections of academia, particularly teachers' groups, who argue that the MCQ-based format reduces the emphasis on descriptive writing, analytical thinking and critical reasoning, especially in humanities and social science subjects.

Addressing concerns over exam pattern, Das said that university admissions should focus on identifying intellectually capable students rather than those with stronger English writing or speaking skills.

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"Convent-educated students will have better language skills than government school students who come from humble backgrounds. For admission to universities like JNU, we are not really looking for how flowery your English is. Rather, we are looking for intelligent people," he said.

The remarks come weeks after a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports raised concerns over the design of CUET. The committee observed that the multiple-choice format may not be appropriate for disciplines such as humanities and social sciences, where independent thinking, interpretation and subjective analysis form an integral part of learning.

The committee noted that MCQ-based assessments are "particularly ill-suited" for such disciplines and recommended a comprehensive review of both the quality of question papers and the overall design of the examination.

National Testing Agency introduced CUET in 2022 to streamline undergraduate admissions by replacing multiple university-specific entrance examinations with a single, standardised test. Central, state and several other universities across the country use it for admissions.