Over 200 universities on board for CUET UG, up from 90 last year: UGC

NEW DELHI: Over 200 universities have opted for the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for admission to undergraduate programmes so far, up from 90 universities last year, according to University Grants Commission officials. The deadline for application has been extended till March 30 as more universities are expected to select the test for admissions.

The 206 universities include 44 central universities and 33 state universities such as Barkatullah University, Bhopal, Dr B R Ambedkar School of Economics, Karnataka, Cotton University, Guwahati, and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi.

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"Number of participating Universities in Common University Entrance Test (CUET-UG) crosses 200 today. It is now 206 including 33 state government universities," a senior UGC official said. The exam is scheduled to be conducted from May 21-31.

The UGC in March last year announced that undergraduate admissions will be conducted in all central universities through a common entrance test and not on the basis of Class 12 marks.

The undergraduate (UG) admission process in universities will be completed by July 2023 and the new academic session can begin on August 1. The debut edition of the CUET-UG was conducted in July last year and was marred by glitches, prompting the National Testing Agency to cancel the exam at multiple centres.

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While several students were informed about cancellation a night before the exam, many of them were turned away from centres. UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar had said then the exam at certain centres have been cancelled following reports of "sabotage".

With 14.9 lakh registrations, the CUET, the common gateway for undergraduate admissions in all central universities, is now the second biggest entrance exam in the country, surpassing the JEE-Main's average registration of 9 lakh.