CUET-UG to return to computer-based format from 2025: UGC chairman

CUET-UG will return to the computer-based format from 2025 and students will be allowed to appear for any subject irrespective of the subjects studied in class 12, according to UGC Chairman Jagadesh Kumar.

In an interview with PTI, Kumar said an expert panel set up by the University Grants Commission (UGC) conducted a review of the exam and proposed several changes.

The panel examined various aspects of the test, such as its structure, number of papers, duration of test papers, syllabus alignment and operational logistics. The changes recommended by it were approved by the commission in a recent meeting.

"The exam will be conducted only in CBT (computer-based test) mode from 2025. We conducted the exam in hybrid mode last year but we will move to CBT mode because it is much more reliable and secure as compared to other modes of examination.

"Candidates will also be allowed to opt for subjects in CUET-UG which they haven't studied in class 12 to allow the students to cross over the rigid disciplinary boundaries in higher education," the UGC chief said.

"We have also reduced the number of papers from 63 to 37 and admissions for the dropped subjects will be conducted on the basis of scores of the General Aptitude Test (GAT)," he added.

Instead of separate tests for 33 languages, tests will be offered for only 13 languages -- Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Mayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Odia, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.

The domain-specific subjects have been reduced from 29 to 23. The dropped domain-specific papers are Entrepreneurship, Teaching Aptitude, Fashion Studies, Tourism, Legal Studies and Engineering Graphics.

Explaining the changes in the 2025 edition of the exam, Kumar said students will be able to appear for CUET-UG in a maximum of five subjects as against six previously.

"Similarly, the exam duration which varied from 45 minutes to 60 minutes depending upon the subject, has now been standardised at 60 minutes. The concept of optional questions in the exam has also been done away with and all questions will be compulsory now," Kumar said.

"When some questions are optional, students may answer differently and the difficulty level could be different," he added.

The duration of CUET-PG has also been reduced from 105 minutes to 90 minutes.

The first edition of CUET-UG in 2022 was plagued by technical glitches. Also, as a result of tests for a subject being conducted over multiple shifts, the scores had to be normalised during the announcement of results.

The exam was conducted in hybrid mode for the first time in 2024. It was cancelled across Delhi a night before it was to be held citing logistical reasons.

"Every year, learning from the past experience we are trying to improve the CUET-UG to make the exam more conducive for the students," Kumar said.

"The approved changes will be put in the public domain soon for feedback from stakeholders and ultimately a notification will be issued taking into account the feedback," he said.