At JNU, Jamia, IPU, timely entrance test a worry; DU, AUD to admit on merit basis
New Delhi: The cancellation of the board exams will not have much of an impact on JNU, Jamia Millia Islamia and the IP University here since they conduct entrance tests, while the Delhi University and the Ambedkar University will wait for the CBSE criteria to carry out merit-based admissions.
Delhi University's (DU) acting vice-chancellor PC Joshi said discussions will be held with the admission committee and the academic council of the university to finalise the process of admission to the undergraduate courses.
Nearly 98 per cent of the applicants to the DU are Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) students.
"There will be some way to judge merit. These are extraordinary circumstances. The Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUCET) can be a good method as it will be based on pan-India merit.
DU will not compromise on merit. We will adjust to the new situation and see what method is to be developed. We will wait and see what are the criterion that the boards come up with for the evaluation of students," Joshi told wire services.
Joshi is a member of the CUCET committee, which had submitted its report to the education ministry. A decision on conducting a common entrance test for all central universities is pending.
The Ambedkar University, which also conducts admissions on the basis of cut-offs like DU, in a statement said it is a "timely and welcome decision by the government".
"The process of admission in the undergraduate programmes will be merit-based, as has been done till the last academic session," it said.
Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and IP University hold entrance tests and said the decision to cancel the board exams will not have much of an impact on their admission procedure.
JNU vice-chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar said the decision taken with regard to the Class 12 exams is "pragmatic and rational".
"In most Higher Educational Institutes (HEIs) such as JNU, the admission to undergraduate programmes is through an entrance examination. We will conduct the entrance examination whenever it is safe for the students to write it," Kumar said.
If the entrance test is delayed due to the pandemic situation and if the admissions are done at a later date than usual, the university will surely adjust its academic calendar to take care of the lost time, without compromising the academic rigour, he added.
A JMI official said with the uncertainty over the board exams coming to an end, the entrance test can hopefully be held in a timely manner. JMI media co-ordinator and public relations officer Ahmad Azeem said admissions are done on the basis of the entrance test results. (With PTI inputs)
