CUET-UG starts; Over 1 lakh have opted for DAVV seats

Indore: The Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for undergraduate courses conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), commenced nationwide on Wednesday. In Indore, over 1.05 lakh students have registered for seats at Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAVV) through CUET-UG. Scheduled from May 15 to 24, CUET-UG witnessed a throng of eager aspirants on the first day, all eyeing admission into DAVV and other universities across the country. The results of the test are slated to be released by June, followed by counselling sessions tentatively set from July 5 to 25 at DAVV.Students and parents reached centres hours before the exam, many of which were situated in remote areas, resulting in lengthy commutes. Over 22 students, who appeared for chemistry at a private college in Indore were shocked to see the paper in English as they claimed to have opted for Hindi language. Blaming technical glitch, an aspirant Shivani Meena said, “It is my second year that will be wasted if NTA doesn’t look into the matter. I have studied in Hindi medium and had applied for Hindi language only for all papers but I got my paper in English. I could barely understand anything. All the 22 students sitting in my class faced the same issue. We tried to approach the invigilators but they said they cannot do anything in this”.Hailing from a village in Sehore district, Shivani has been living in Indore since last year, for her UG admission. “The registration process for 1500 UG seats concluded on April 16, a total of 1,05,515 applications were received. This year's figures exhibit a decline compared to the previous year, attributed partly to the opening of university in Khargone,” said Dr Kanhaiya Ahuja, chairman of DAVV CUET. Stricter security measures were in place in adherence to NTA guidelines this year at more than 30 exam centres in Indore, with thorough checks conducted prior to entry at the centres. Prohibited items such as smartwatches, calculators, and mobile devices were confiscated, while even earrings and hair accessories were not spared from scrutiny, ensuring a fair and transparent examination process.There are 63 test papers being offered under CUET-UG this year. The duration of the test was 45 minutes in pen and paper mode except in subjects — accountancy, economics, physics, computer science / informatics practices, chemistry, mathematics / applied mathematics, and general test — the duration of the test is 60 minutes.To ensure that candidates from all backgrounds have an equal opportunity to perform their best, it was decided to conduct the test papers, which have been chosen by the majority of candidates in pen & paper mode this year. The remaining papers will be conducted in computer-based test mode as per the schedule from May 21 to 24 for regional languages, fine arts, psychology and computer science among others.