CUET UG Results: Rise In Reliance On Coaching Centres & Complexities In Admission Process

The National Testing Agency (NTA) released the results for CUET UG on July 15, 2023. This is the second year of the newly introduced centralised entrance test for national universities and other autonomous and participating institutes. The exam witnessed an impressive turnout of unique registered candidates with 14,99,709, as informed by the NTA in a press statement.

Making education centralised is the key idea of NEP 2020 and CUET was introduced with the aim of decreasing the burden of the students to appear in the multiple entrance examinations. Also, this year, surprisingly, almost 22000 students have acquired 100 percentiles in different subjects. Meanwhile, a lot of students and parents have complained about the complexities of the admission process.

To check whether CUET really lessened the students’ burden or ultimately has created more issues among them, BW Education speaks with teachers, students and parents to understand their viewpoints and experience about this newly centralised entrance test.

On the issues that are being faced by the students, Abha Dev Habib, Associate Professor, Miranda House and Secretary, Democratic Teachers' Front, firstly critised the idea of CUET itself. She said, “The issue at hand revolves around the implications of NEP 2020 and its recommendations, which seem to prioritise profit-making in education. When a centralised exam like CUET is introduced, it inadvertently benefits coaching centres, as students seek additional assistance to excel.”

The shift toward centralised entrance exams has led to increased reliance on coaching centres. As a result, competition intensifies, favouring those who can afford high-quality coaching. This means that students with access to superior coaching tend to outperform those without such resources. While there may be exceptions of individuals succeeding without coaching, the overall trend leans toward a greater reliance on coaching due to the competitive environment,” she added. 

Regarding the issues faced by students during university admissions, even those who obtained a perfect score in CUET, Habib explained that several factors contribute to the problem. Inconsistencies in the declaration of exam papers by universities could be one such issue. Additionally, the shift towards online processes for admissions due to CUET has further complicated matters.

She added, “Previously, students would physically visit universities for admissions and counseling, but now different universities have distinct criteria and combinations of papers, affecting the selection process. Consequently, even students with excellent CUET scores may struggle to secure admission to their preferred colleges.”

To Dheeraj Mehrotra, Principal, Kunwar's Global School, Lucknow, the lack of awareness among students and parents is the major problem. He said, “There is a lack of awareness. While there are PDFs and PPTs being shared, there is a lack of proper explanation and absence of a continuous framework for the flow of information and a lack of connection with prospective students. The government's initiatives do have some impact, but the results are crucial. When the admission process was reintroduced last year or the year before, people had to understand and adapt, yet the challenges remain.” 

One of the parents told while speaking to BW Education, “This new admission process is very complex, earlier we had to go to the university with score card to get the admission. That process was smooth and easy. But this time we are unable to understand the process and we are completely relying on private coaching centres to understand the process.” 

When we asked Mehrotra that how this issue can be resolved, he replied, “It will take time for awareness to reach students, teachers and parents. The approach should focus more on providing instructions to school authorities on how to incorporate the common university exam into the learning environment and make necessary preparations."

“It is a complex situation for both parents and universities who are eagerly anticipating admissions. As a principal, I have noticed that many of my students, even the majority, did not appear for CUET, opting instead for standalone, autonomous or other options like CLAT or the existing IAP and PMT. It remains a third or fourth choice for them,” he further added. 

On the complexity of the admission process students have the mix reviews. A student from Khujra, Bulandshahar district in UP, Divija Bansal, shared his experience, “During the admission process, the main problem which I faced is in deciding whether to give preference to course or college. I, along with my friends, used to think that DU asks for a course wise preference list. But at the eleventh hour, I got to know that an overall preference sheet is required with a mix of programmes. Apart from good scores, in DU, the criteria is that CUET scores of only those subjects will be considered which have been studied in class 12. If you have appeared for any extra subjects and you wish to take admission on the basis of them, then it's not possible even if you have scored good marks.” 

But on the other side, Katyayini Madeti, a student from West Bakaro, Jharkhand, finds the process easy. He said, “I didn't feel the admission process was complex and that is necessary for proper verification.” 

On asked whether CUET helped him in reducing the burden of preparing for multiple entrance exams, Bansal said, “Yes, it has reduced the burden of appearing in a number of entrance exams. Talking about scores, a good university will give admission only to those who have scored comparatively high marks and vice versa. So I don't see any increase in competition because of that, whether it's CUET or any other entrance exam, competition is tough if one wishes to get in a good university.” 

“According to me it really did help in reducing the burden of various entrance examinations and though students are securing 100 percentile and making the competition intense, but everyone does not apply for the same college or same course or sometimes even meet necessary requirements. So there are good chances of getting into your dream college once you score well,” added Madeti.