UGC allows universities to conduct entrance exams to fill vacant seats

The UGC has allowed central universities to hold their own entrance exams for UG and PG programmes if seats remain vacant after standard admissions

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has allowed universities to conduct their own entrance exams for undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) programmes if seats remain vacant after the standard admission procedures.

The UGC has indicated that a large number of seats in Central Universities and their associated colleges remain vacant after multiple rounds of counselling. This situation not only leads to inefficient use of resources but also denies numerous prospective students the chance to obtain higher education at these institutions.

The UGC highlights that vacant seats in Central Universities signify missed chances for students aspiring to receive high-quality higher education. To tackle this problem, the UGC has sanctioned a series of standard operating procedures (SOPs) aimed at assisting Central Universities in efficiently filling these available positions.

The UGC said the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) scores will remain the main criterion for student admissions. All central universities are directed to use CUET scores to admit students. However, if there are still unfilled seats after multiple rounds of counselling based on CUET scores, universities can implement supplementary measures to fill those vacancies.

UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar said, "Every seat is valuable in our universities. The UGC has provided SOPs to ensure that seats are filled, using CUET scores as the primary criteria. However, if vacancies persist, universities are permitted to conduct their own entrance exams or consider marks from qualifying examinations."

Kumar further said, "The goal is to ensure that no seat remains vacant and that every student has the opportunity to pursue their education in Central Universities."

Last week, the National Testing Agency (NTA) released the CUET UG 2024 results, marking the start of this year's undergraduate admission process, which has faced delays. The CUET UG 2024 exams took place from May 15 to May 24 at various testing centres.

According to NTA data, around 1.348 million candidates registered for undergraduate programmes, while 262,725 registered for the postgraduate entrance exam. The CUET PG 2024 exam was held from March 11 to March 28, 2024, across more than 250 cities, including nine international locations.

(With agency inputs)