CUET: Students burdened with one more exam
Just as the pandemic seems to be on the decline and schools are limping back to some semblance of normalcy, the students are now faced with announcement of the Common University Entrance Test( CUET) for all central universities to be implemented from this year itself. The move denies any weightage to class 12 Board exams with the tentative caveat that Central universities will reserve the right to set an eligibility “cut-off” of the Board exam marks for the CUET.
The undergraduate admissions in universities were a point of debate for long. The entire admissions were done on the basis of the system of elimination based on Board class 12 marks, where a fraction of marks made all the difference between admission in prestigious universities/colleges.
Thus, there was a demand from various quarters that the prevalent UG admission be replaced by a system of selection where quality point marks be allotted in other parameters also.
The present announcement will ensure the university admission through one shot CUET results – thus making class 12 board exams almost redundant.
With this new decision, coaching for CUET will start from class 10 itself or even earlier and learning will cease to exist. The schools will also, instead of building academic environment, give focus to such coaching activities because that will give them leverage over other institutions in a consumerist world.
The students are naturally worried. First, the announcement has come in the wake of the Board exams. And now they have the added burden of preparing for one more exam. School heads are concerned that students will not take their studies seriously in class 11 and 12 as they used to because suddenly, they do not seem important.
The ray of hope that we can see in this scenario is that there might be a much-needed correction in the evaluation process of the various Boards and marking will become more reliable and realistic. Also, as typology of the questions in CUET may be based on “HOTS” (higher order thinking skills), analytical thinking, critical thinking and problem-solving skills might receive more focus in school education.
Now the question arises – what is the solution then? We need a system of selection creating a matrix and give at least 30% weightage to the Board results, besides having the eligibility criterion separately and 20% weightage to extracurricular participation in school, plus other value points. The remaining 50% weightage can be given to CUET. This will encourage schools to make a welcome move away from a singular focus on exam- driven academic learning alone and give more importance to co-curricular activities in school. It is the co-curricular activities that will give students the important life skills that they need for their future careers.
THE PRESENT ANNOUNCEMENT WILL ENSURE THE UNIVERSITY ADMISSION THROUGH ONE SHOT CUET RESULTS – THUS MAKING CLASS 12 BOARD EXAMS ALMOST REDUNDANT