TISS drops interviews, sparks student outcry over CUET-only entry in PG

Students are dissatisfied with TISS' recent decisions, stating that the shift to CUET-alongside the scrapping of the interview process-would undermine the campus's inclusive and diverse character

Mumbai’s Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has scrapped interviews for student admissions starting from the 2025–26 academic session. Admissions will now be based solely on scores from the Central University Entrance Test (CUET), according to institute officials.

 

TISS has shared a tentative timeline for admission to postgraduate courses and has not allotted any period to conduct interviews for shortlisted candidates.

 

Indian Express quoted a senior official who confirmed the interview round elimination news and claimed that the decision was taken to ensure transparency and timely admissions as no other social science institute conducts interviews for admission. 

 

"Due to this additional stage of interviews, our admission would prolong for almost a month longer than others’ and we would lose out on students,” the senior official added.

 

 

The administration believes that this step not only saves time but is also cost-effective and ensures complete transparency, the official said.

 

CUET marks-based admission ensures only meritorious students get admission to TISS as the assessment in the interview stage was a matter of question for some students in the past.

 

"As opposed to assessments done during interviews, the CUET score is objective, leaving no room for any confusion among candidates,” the official added.  ALSO READ | UPPSC AE Admit Card 2025 announced at official website, direct link here

Students protest decision; demand return of interview round

Students opposed the TISS decision claiming the scrapping would compromise the TISS campus' inclusive and diverse character.

 

Five student associations on the TISS campus including the Adivasi Students’ Forum (ASF), Ambedkarite Students Association (ASA), Fraternity, North East Students Forum (NESF) and Progressive Students Forum (PSF), issued joint statements against the TISS decision. 

 

The joint statement reads, “Online Assessment, especially interview in TISS admission process, always helped students from varied social backgrounds, including those from vernacular mediums, those without access to coaching, and those who express their thoughts through subjective understanding rather than objective answering skills. Removing interviews risks cutting out these voices, and making our campus inaccessible to a large section of students. We are witnessing the changes in the campus demography since CUET was implemented. These changes will deepen if interviews are removed altogether.”

 

The TISS also faced students' anger last year for replacing the traditional entrance test, TISS-NET, with CUET.  ALSO READ | KEAM 2025: Admit card to be issued on April 10 at official website, details here

 

“The introduction of CUET for admissions last year has homogenised the student body, making it difficult for those who cannot afford the additional expenses or lack access to specific coaching centres catering to this particular exam format. The shift to CUET with further scrapping of the interview process would compromise the inclusive and diverse character of TISS campus,” the joint statement reads.

What was the admission process last year?

TISS used to conduct its own entrance exam (TISS-NET) till 2023-24. From 2024-25, the institute joined the CUET-PG conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for PG admissions. However, 75 per cent weightage was allotted to the CUET-PG score and 25 per cent to personal interviews, which was TISS’ common practice to check students’ understanding of the subject for which they have applied.

TISS increased the application fee

The institute has also revised the application fee. Last year, the fee for general candidates was Rs 500 which has been raised to Rs 900 this year. The fee has been doubled to Rs 500 for SC and SC candidates.