Public universities to hold uniform entry test

The upcoming ordinance on uniform entry test for public universities from the 2023-24 academic session, as announced by the University Grants Commission (UGC), appears to strike a note of urgency. Concerned quarters, academics in particular, feel the system should have been in place years before. The ordinance will prevail over anything contained in the University Act regarding admission tests. A committee, headed by a UGC member, was entrusted with the task of drafting the ordinance. A FE report says the decision was made unanimously by the UGC-constituted committee to hold admission test under a single umbrella for all public universities countrywide. The UGC announced this on Tuesday following a meeting with the vice-chancellors of public universities.

For sometime now, there have been discussions on the problems in the existing entry tests, known as cluster tests conducted by the public universities, which according to many, tend to cause much hassle for the admission seekers and their guardians. Each university sets its date for the test and the candidates, not sure about their entry/berth in the universities of their choice, try their luck in all the universities across the country rushing from place to place in a short time. For families, not well off enough to have their wards tour across the country to sit for the tests, it is often too burdensome. The situation for admission-seekers in most cases is of sheer uncertainty as to where they might land up to pursue future studies. As for their parents and guardians, they too spend time in anxiety until the results of tests are published.

Besides removing the existing problems, what however the UGC intends to achieve through the ordinance is a semblance of harmony in the calibre of the admission seekers, given that there are dozens of public universities already operating in the country, with some more in the pipeline. Clearly, the entry tests, as a measure of assessing the merit of the students, largely vary from one university to another. This no doubt is a cause for disparity in academic standing of the universities, and those who eventually complete their studies are not free from the public perception of such disparity. This apart, the fact remains that students seeking admission to universities must have the requisite academic merit, and in order to ensure this it is highly imperative that their entry should be on the basis of a sound and harmonious system. There is more to the issue. By ensuring a well thought-out standard for admission test, it can be expected that students in the public universities would be at least good enough to qualify for the minimum uniform threshold. This, however, is not to say that all public universities would rank equal in their standing. Needless to say, it is the academic environment, and a host of related facilities that make a university what it stands for.

With the ordinance set to be implemented from the next academic year, the main job would be to successfully execute the country-wide admission procedure. A challenging task, though not an impossible one.