The University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced a new policy allowing central universities to conduct their own entrance exams or admit students based on qualifying exam marks if seats remain vacant after admissions through the Common University Entrance Test (CUET). This decision comes as a response to the need to fill vacant seats in undergraduate and postgraduate courses. While CUET scores will continue to be the primary criteria for admission, the UGC has clarified that students who appeared in CUET can be considered for admission even if they did not apply to the university or did not appear for the specific domain subjects related to the course. This flexibility aims to ensure that no eligible student is left behind due to the limitations of the CUET exam.
UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar highlighted the rationale behind this move, stating that keeping seats vacant for an entire academic year represents a waste of resources and denies quality higher education to aspiring students. He emphasized that the new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are designed to facilitate the filling of vacant seats in central universities. Students who appeared in CUET but may or may not have applied to the respective university for the courses can be considered for admission under this new policy.
Furthermore, the UGC has also given universities the option to admit students based on their marks in the qualifying examination. This flexibility allows universities to explore alternative admission methods when CUET scores alone are insufficient to fill all available seats. The UGC emphasizes that the entire admission process must be conducted based on merit and transparency, with the reservation roster strictly applied in all cases.
