The National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced the results for the Common University Entrance Test Undergraduate (CUET-UG) on Sunday evening after a delay of nearly a month. This announcement allows universities to start preparations for undergraduate admissions for the first semester, even as the academic session for other semesters is set to begin on August 1.
Reasons for the Delay
Initially expected by June 30, the CUET-UG results were postponed due to controversies surrounding irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG). The CUET-UG exam was conducted from May 15 to 29 in a hybrid mode (both pen and paper and computer-based), with a re-exam held on July 19 for about 1,000 affected candidates. This year marked the first time the exam was conducted in hybrid mode, a shift from the purely online format of the previous two editions.
Normalization and Raw Scores
For the first time, the NTA did not use normalization of marks for CUET-UG as all subject papers were held on a single day, issuing raw scores instead.
Exam Participation and Challenges
This year’s CUET-UG saw nearly 14,99,790 candidates register, with 11,13,610 appearing for the exam across various subject combinations at 283 central, state, and participating universities for the 2024-25 academic session. The candidates had the opportunity to challenge answer keys from July 7-9, resulting in 9,512 challenges, of which 1,782 were unique. The results are now being shared with participating universities.
Impact on University Academic Calendars
Universities, including Delhi University (DU), have had to adjust their academic calendars due to the delayed results. While classes for all other semesters and postgraduate students will begin on August 1, new students entering the first semester will start their academic session by the last week of August.
Faculty members at DU have expressed concerns over the delay, fearing it might cause overlapping of exams for third and fifth semesters while first-year students are still completing their syllabus.
Admission Process at DU
According to Prof. Haneet Gandhi, Dean of Admissions at DU, the new session for all students, except first-semester entrants, will begin on August 1. The first-semester classes are expected to start in the third week of August. DU is waiting for CUET scores, which usually take up to two days to be integrated into their system. Once received, DU will commence the second phase of the application process, allowing students to state their course preferences based on their scores.
In the initial application phase, around 1.75 lakh students registered for admission to DU. Given the use of raw scores this year, the university may have to employ tie-breakers more frequently due to the same scores and course preferences among students.
Challenges Faced During the Exam
The CUET-UG faced several challenges, including exam cancellations on the first day for Delhi-NCR centers, issues with downloading admit cards due to last-minute updates, and delays in result announcements. Some candidates reported errors in the provisional answer keys, leading to a re-test for students whose grievances were validated by the NTA.
The announcement of the CUET-UG results, despite the delays and challenges, marks a critical step forward for students and universities preparing for the upcoming academic year.
