Dear Editor University Grants Commission’s decision to introduce a Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for admission to graduate courses in 45 Central universities, including Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Aligarh Muslim University and Banaras Hindu University, will sound the death-knell for the present school-based education system. Admission will solely be based on the result of the CUET, to be conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). The results of the Class XII board examination conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and state education boards will have no bearing on the admission process. Of course, the basic eligibility for the CUET is the clearance of the board examination. To put it differently, a student who might have scored 100 per cent marks in all the subjects in the CBSE Class XII examination but failed to clear the CUET would not be eligible for admission to a Central university. Once the new system comes into force from the academic year beginning 2022, the results of the board exams will lose much of their importance. If there was a craze for higher marks in the Class XII examination among the students and their parents, it was mainly because admission to all the universities was based purely on such marks. One reason why a review of the system was found necessary was that admission to Delhi University and the colleges affiliated with it had become problematic. There were certain colleges, where only those with 100 per cent marks were eligible for admission. Some teachers, affiliated with a particular political party, alleged that students from Kerala scored higher marks and were, therefore, able to corner the seats. True, some state boards were liberal with marking giving their students an extra advantage. Nonetheless, when the cure is worse than the disease, it is a matter of grave concern. True, central universities are few compared to state universities and the growing number of private universities, which may or may not follow the CUET system immediately. Students will be under pressure to not only score high marks in the board examination but also improve their proficiency in cracking the CUET. On the flip side, students, like those in Delhi, who want to study mostly in central universities would be under no compulsion to score high marks in the board examination. Instead, they would be better advised to improve their ability to crack the CUET for which coaching institutes would provide services, of course, at a heavy cost. In the process, the school-based system would lose its appeal to the students. For last two years, the schools have not been functioning properly because of COVID-19. This had a deleterious effect on the students, who had to remain confined to their houses. Of course, some of them were able to continue education, thanks to online classes. However, there has been a growing realisation that online classes are not a substitute for classroom-based teaching. True, knowledge can be acquired through the internet and by studying from home. But, a student learns many things in a classroom like discipline, ability to behave in a group, how to respect teachers and elders, develop friendships with fellow students that sometimes last a lifetime, and submerge one’s own identity into the identity of the whole class or the school. The new system will force the parents to get for their wards specialised coaching for which time and money have to be found. Not every student can afford to spend money on school fees and coaching which will be to the advantage of the rich. In other words, the CUET is tailor-made for coaching institutes. UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar was earlier Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University and knew about the entrance system prevalent there since its inception. Under JNU’s admission system, poor students from villages and backward regions used to get a certain weightage. That is why the character of the university was different from that of Delhi University. Instead of seeing the large presence of students from backward regions as welcome, it was seen as a conspiracy by the leftists to retain JNU as their bastion. In adopting the one-shoe-fits-all policy, the government is indirectly playing into the hands of the privileged. The government has clarified that universities like Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University which have statutory provisions enabling them to reserve seats for minority students will be able to do so, provided such students clear the CUET. However, colleges like St. Stephen’s and Jesus and Mary in Delhi will have to follow the practice followed by other Delhi University colleges. Since the taste of the pudding is in the eating, one will have to wait for the new system to kick in to know the practical difficulties. In any case, a system that is detrimental to the present school based-system can hardly be welcomed. Vijay Garg.
