Government considering common entrance for central varsities

NEW DELHI - A common entrance test for central universities is on the cards of the government as vice chancellors of these varsities agree that modification is needed in the present system.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandeswari Friday said there was a consensus on the need for modifications in the system of admission to undergraduate and post-graduate courses as the present system is strenuous for students and parents.

The recommendations made by a committee of vice chancellors in regard to a Common Entrance Test in central universities was discussed recently at a conference. There was a consensus that the present college/institution specific system of admission places immense burden on the students/applicants as well as parents, Purandeswari said.

The admission procedure needs to be modified. For admission to undergraduate courses, it was felt that the marks obtained in Class 12 and the scores obtained in a common national level aptitude test should get appropriate weightage, she said.

For admission to post-graduate programmes, the basis could be marks obtained at the graduate level and a common test to assess the aptitude and knowledge in the subject concerned, she said.