UGC seeks feedback on revised CUET exam methodology for 2025

New Delhi: The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Wednesday announced a significant update in its approach to conducting the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for both undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) students for the year 2025. 

The UGC has invited public feedback on the revised methodology aiming to refine the examination process for a better and more efficient testing environment for candidates.

Since its inception in 1956 under the UGC Act, UGC has been pivotal in setting and maintaining the standards for higher education, coordinating with universities, and providing financial assistance. 

The introduction of CUET itself was a step towards standardising entrance exams across universities to ensure fairness and transparency in admissions.

The 2024 edition of CUET UG faced several operational challenges, leading to a hybrid model of testing which included both computer-based and paper-based tests. However, for 2025, UGC plans to revert to an exclusively computer-based format, aiming to streamline the process and address the logistical issues encountered previously. 

This shift back to CBT mode is part of a broader strategy to make the CUET more robust and less susceptible to last-minute cancellations or technical difficulties, as seen in previous years.

UGC's call for feedback on the proposed changes invites a broad spectrum of stakeholders including students, educators, and institutions to contribute their insights. 

This participatory approach is intended to tailor the examination process to better meet the needs of all involved, ensuring that the CUET continues to serve as an equitable means of university admissions.

The commission is looking to refine the examination process further, ensuring it remains a fair, efficient, and conducive environment for all candidates.

The UGC had constituted an expert committee to review the conduct of CUET-UG and CUET-PG for 2025. The committee examined various aspects of the test, such as its structure, number of papers, duration of test papers, syllabus alignment, and operational logistics. 

The commission considered these recommendations in its meeting held on 13th November 2024. 

Based on these recommendations of the expert committee, CUET-UG and CUET-PG 2025 are planned to be conducted as given below: 

A. CUET-UG 2025

1. The exam is to be conducted once a year in Computer Based Test (CBT) Mode. 

2. The candidates will be allowed to appear up to a maximum of five (05) subjects. 

3. The candidates will be allowed to take subjects in the CUET irrespective of the subjects opted in Class XII, within the permissible limit of five subjects.

4. The exam duration will be one hour per subject per paper. The one-hour duration will be consistent across all papers.

5. All the questions will be compulsory and there will be negative marking.

6. The standard of the questions will be based on the NCERT syllabus.

7. The medium of examination will be in 13 languages (English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu) as per CUET-UG 2024.

8. For the 13 languages (English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu), the language-specific papers to test proficiency are to be conducted as per CUET-UG 2024. For all the remaining languages including foreign languages (20 as per CUET-UG 2024), the admissions in the programmes of these languages are to be made on the basis of performance in the General Aptitude Test.

9. The General Test currently in vogue is to be redesigned as the General Aptitude Test.

10. The domain-specific subject/paper on ‘Entrepreneurship’, ‘Teaching Aptitude’, ‘Fashion Studies’, ‘Tourism’, ‘Legal Studies’ and ‘Engineering Graphics’ are to be discontinued. For these programmes, admissions are to be made on the basis of performance in the General Aptitude Test.

11. The twenty-three subjects/papers will be: 1.Accountancy/Book-keeping 2. Business Studies 3. Agriculture 4. Physics 5. Chemistry 6. Mathematics/Applied Mathematics 7. Biology/Biological Science/Biochemistry/ Biotechnology 8. Performing Arts (Dance, Drama, Music) 9. Fine Arts/Visual Arts/Commercial Arts 10. Geography/Geology 11. History 12. Home Science 13. Mass Media/Mass Communication 14. Political Science 15. Psychology 16. Sociology 17. Sanskrit 18. Environmental Science 19. Knowledge Tradition- Practices in India 20. Physical Education (Yoga, Sports) 21. Anthropology 22. Economics/Business Economics 23. Computer Science/Information Practices.

12. All admissions will be made using CUET-UG scores and in compliance with the UGC guidelines in this regard.

B. CUET- PG 2025

1. The exam is to be conducted once a year in Computer Based Test (CBT) Mode.

2. The duration of the exam will be 90 minutes per subject per paper and will be uniform across all the papers.

3. All the questions will be compulsory and there will be negative marking.

4. The medium of examination will be Bilingual.

5. The standard of questions will be as was for CUET-PG 2024.

6. The General Paper is to be redesigned to cater to skill-based and certain professions based on UG knowledge so that universities can use it for programmes in those areas.

7. All admissions will be made using CUET-PG scores and in compliance with the UGC guidelines in this regard. However, a university, may decide the weightage of CUETPG score for admission to specialized courses.