The Goverment of India has recommended the Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUCET) for admission to 54 Central Universities in India. Recently, institutions like the Delhi University have already shown inclination toward reforming their admission criteria by adopting the CUCET exam for admissions in 2021-2022. On the other hand, the JNU Vice Chancellor has been quoted saying that the University will conduct admission entrance examination when suitable.
The CUCET exam has been proposed to provide a national-level platform for determining the merit of candidates seeking admission to UG, PG and PhD courses in Central Universities. Adoption of CUCET can be beneficial for Delhi University in light of the fact that the University is known to set very high cut-offs for UG admissions. However, as confirmed by the DU Vice-Chancellor, PC Joshi, the University will consider the CUCET 2021 and Class 12 board exams score combinedly to prepare the admission merit lists. Candidates aspiring for UG admission to central universities like the Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University have to focus on preparing for the CUCET 2021 exam now that the Class 12 exams have been cancelled by all national board and most state boards.
Although a final decision regarding NTA’s CUCET 2021 is pending, reportedly, the question paper will consist of an element of aptitude alongside other subject-specific questions. Thus, any study strategy must include practice and revision of aptitude based subjects such as reasoning, data interpretation etc. It is also recommended that candidates refer to the previous year question papers of other NTA UG admission exams which features aptitude based questions.
While an expert committee of the government is already deciding on the modalities for the CUCET exam, the question paper will reportedly General English, Numerical Ability & Data Interpretation, Logical & Analytical Reasoning, and General Awareness. 100 MCQs will be asked in the question paper of CUCET based on such aforementioned subjects. The objective pattern means that candidates have a significant scope to refer to existing UG entrance preparation books, tests, sample papers etc.
Although the exam pattern has not been confirmed by official sources, candidates may refer to study materials available for other UG admission entrance tests. General English, Quantitative Aptitude, DI, Reasoning based sample question papers for UG entrance exam preparations must be referred to for preparations of the exam.
Candidates are also advised to remain updated on recent events of importance at the national and international levels. This will help in preparing for any questions asked from current events in the General Awareness section. Furthermore, if there is indeed the aptitude element in the exam pattern as per the aforementioned list of indicative subjects, then candidates must invest time in extensive practice.
An important preparation strategy to cover aptitude is to refer to question banks for UG admissions for the subjects of numerical aptitude Data Interpretation, Reasoning etc. In addition, since CUCET will be held for the first time and nothing is yet confirmed, candidates are advised to have a clear understanding of fundamental concepts at the 10+2 level.
