Delhi University (DU) teachers have joined students to oppose the proposed common entrance test for central varsities on the ground that centralised admission will deprive the poor and socially backward as they don’t have access to coaching for competitive exams.

DU admits students to most of its undergraduate courses on the basis of Class XII results. The new National Education Policy has proposed a Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUCET) for all 45 central varsities.

A committee set up by the University Grants Commission has given a report endorsing the CUCET. The UGC has recommended equal weightage to CUCET and board marks for selection to undergraduate courses in colleges.

The education ministry is expected to soon take the final call. Officials have said the government was likely to allow conduct of CUCET in August-September. The central universities are waiting for the final decision to start their process.

The Academics for Actions and Development (AAD), a DU faculty group, on Friday held a webinar on “CUCET and its perils”. Former Delhi University Teachers Association president Aditya Narayan Misra said a centralised entrance exam would undermine the autonomy of universities.

The meeting highlighted concerns such as lack of information on question patterns and the syllabus for the planned test. There is no clarity on criteria of evaluation either.

Science students might not be well-equipped for a general knowledge section while humanities and commerce students might need time to prepare for logical reasoning and quantitative ability, more so if there is negative marking, the teachers said.

“There will be hardship for poor students and marginalised sections because they do not have access to coaching,” Misra said.

The CUCET will also spawn coaching centres, he said.

“Coaching centres will mushroom with time and poor students will lose the chance to get admission to DU. Only the best-coached students will get admission, depriving talented students coming from socially and economically weaker backgrounds. Higher education in India has to be inclusive and social justice-based,” Misra said.

Other faculty members also expressed their concerns. Former DU Executive Council member Abha Dev Habib said any change in admission policy should be discussed with all stakeholders and the decision taken well in advance.

“This last-minute change will increase the hardships of students and undo the relief that the scrapping of board exams have brought. DU has been admitting students through a merit-based policy. Shifting to a common entrance test at the last moment is unfair to students,” she said.Former DU Academic Council member and ex-DUTA executive member Prof. Vijaya Venkatraman said the CUCET might affect admissions in some central universities.

“The CUCET will lead to over-centralisation of admission. The admission policies of universities are based on their specific conditions and currently each of the universities has its own policy based on faculty strength and local issues,” she said.

“Over-centralisation will lead to vacant seats in many universities as students may want to take admission in institutions in their own region. However, those wanting to go to other states to study have the option even now without the centralised admission test. Centralised entrance will increase demand for admission in specific universities that may be outside their regions and lead to increase in vacant seats,” Venkatraman said.

One test based on multiple-choice questions, the preferred format for entrance exams, cannot be considered superior to the holistic evaluation done by the CBSE and other school boards, she said.

Last week, students had written to DU vice-chancellor P.C. Joshi against switching from Class XII marks-based selection criteria to entrance exam-based admission.