CUET for only 20 courses this year: Jamia Millia Islamia tells to UGC

Fri 03 Mar 2023, 23:57:37

According to a senior official on Friday, the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) has chosen not to use the Common University Entrance Exam (CUET) for admission to undergraduate and postgraduate courses, with the exception of 20 programmes, claiming a lack of time to amend the university's norms.

This year, 20 JMI courses, 10 more than the previous academic year, will allow admission through the CUET, including BSc (Hons) Physics and BSc (Hons) Chemistry.

The university has written to the University Grants Commission (UGC) to alert it of the most recent decision and to inform it that CUET UG would be implemented in all courses beginning with the academic year 2024–2025 since it needed enough time to modify admissions policies.

UGC launched the CUET last year for undergraduate and graduate programme admission.

Although the CUET was adopted by the Jamia, it wasn't implemented for all of its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. UGC recently requested that JMI utilise CUET UG beginning with the academic year 2023–2024 in all programmes.

The university stated in its response to the UGC that it will only accept applications for admission through CUET UG and PG in 20 programmes—15 undergraduate courses and 5 postgraduate courses.

The JMI grants admission to a number of programmes according to merit determined by an entrance exam administered by the institution, and where applicable, followed by an interview and/or other components.

"We have received the UGC letter. And we have replied to them that this year will not be adopting the CUET wholly but for 20 courses. As there is not much time left to make changes to the university rules. But for the next academic year, we will implement the CUET UG. All the admission to undergraduate courses

at the university will be taken through CUET. We have informed the UGC about it," JMI Registrar Nazim Husain Al-Jafri told PTI.

"Our Executive Council (highest decision-making body of the varsity) decided that it won't be possible to implement the CUET this year as admission to several courses takes place through interviews. In those courses in which interviews are not required, we will allow admission through the CUET," the registrar said.

The university has no intentions of fully integrating CUET PG starting with the upcoming academic year because it is not required.

The UGC reminded Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia in a letter sent last month that all central universities must compel the use of the Common University Entrance Test for undergraduate programme admission. A prospectus for admission to the JMI for the academic year 2023–2024 was also released.

The UG courses in which admission would be taken through the CUET are:

BA (Hons) (Turkish Lang.& Literature)*

BA (Hons) Sanskrit

BA (Hons) French and Francophone Studies

BA (Hons) Spanish and Latin American Studies

BA (Hons) History

BA (Hons) Hindi

BA (Hons) Urdu

BA (Hons) Korean Language

BA (Hons) Persian

BSc Biotechnology

BVoc (Solar Energy)