With the University of Delhi (DU) approving some key decisions for 2021, this year is expected to be a year of transformation for the university. For the first time, the university will conduct entrance exams on its own or by a national testing agency.

Until last year, admissions to undergraduate courses at Du University were based on the scores. All applicants who meet the cut-off criteria are eligible for admission. However, with the rapid cut-off, including 100% of the first list, it began to become a regular feature, so the admission process needs to be reviewed. Last year, at least eight Du Colleges announced 100% scores as the eligibility criteria for admission to 11 graduation courses. The challenges posed by over-enrollment and under-enrollment also require review of the admission mechanism.

In October last year, Du formed a nine-member committee to review the reform of undergraduate admissions. Subsequently, the academic and executive committee of the school passed a proposal for a unified entrance examination for undergraduate admissions in December. Although the unified entrance examination method is still under development, Du has made it clear that enrollment of different disciplines for the 2022-23 academic year undergraduate courses can only be conducted through CUCET or the University of Delhi General Entrance Examination (DUCET).

DU Vice President Yogesh Singh told HT last week that if a CUCET is held, the university will choose to participate. In the absence of CUCET, the university will conduct its own entrance exam-DUCET. Admissions will be based solely on entrance exams, and grade 12 scores will be used as eligibility factors.

DU Registrar Vikas Gupta stated that the entrance exam is in the interests of students. “In the past few years, we have seen students’ scores are too high, which in turn leads to very high scores. This year’s entrance exam will bring some comfort to the students. The pressure of high cutoffs will not exist. They will not exist. You can focus on the specific topic of preparation,” Gupta said.

He said that the university is waiting for the details of the CUCET timetable. Gupta said: “If CUCET is conducted, it will be in the interests of students, because they can take one test in multiple tests.”

In addition to phasing out deadline-based admissions, the university will also implement four-year undergraduate courses (FYUP) and other regulations stipulated in the 2020 National Education Policy, including registering itself in the Academic Credit Bank (ABC) system and allowing Students choose the Multiple Entry and Exit Program (MEES) to increase the flexibility of higher education.