CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has been at loggerheads with the Centre over NEET, and now the announcement of the University Grants Commission (UGC) to hold a common entrance test for admission to undergraduate courses in all central universities has academicians in the State worried. Many say the new test will make higher education even more inaccessible to poor students and promote coaching culture.
“With the introduction of the Central University Entrance Test (CUET), students aspiring to study in the 45 central universities in the country will have to pass an entrance exam, which means whatever they studied till Class XII holds no value. Like NEET, CUET too ignores the state curriculum,” said president of Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Association, PK Ilamaran.
“With entrance exams like CUET, schools will turn into coaching centres. Instead of focusing on making their foundation strong, the schools will start coaching students to qualify for these entrance exams. And those who cannot afford such schools and coaching will suffer,” said Jayaprakash Gandhi, career consultant, adding, “States should be allowed to fill 85 per cent of seats in the universities in their state, and 15 per cent of seats can be filled by the Centre,” he said.
Supporters of the move, however, say the exam will offer a relief from the insane admission cut-offs. “Many students from rural areas aren’t even aware of central universities and the few who do don’t aspire to study in them due to the high cut-off marks. CUET will create a level playing field for these students. The exam will be conducted in regional languages, including Tamil,” said K Prashantha, retired principal of a government college
Expressing concern over the implementation of CUET, noted educationist and former Vice-Chancellor of University of Madras SP Thyagarajan said: “Various disciplines in arts, science, and other courses are available in universities. So, it will be interesting to see how they will conduct one entrance test for all subjects.” On an alternative, he said: “Instead of introducing new tests, the Centre and the State should work together to reform our school system,” he added.
State Higher Education Minister K Ponmudi, reacting to CUET, said it would adversely affect opportunities of students from the State and they would find it difficult to get into central universities such as the Jawaharlal Nehru University.