First edition of CUET gets under way today

NEW DELHI: The first-edition of Common University Entrance Test (CUET-UG 2020), for admission to various undergraduate courses, gets under way on Friday across 500 cities in India and in 10 foreign locations.
The first phase would be conducted on July 15, 16, 19 and 20, while the second phase will be conducted on August 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 17, 18 and 20 for which 14. 9 lakh candidates have registered for undergraduate admissions across 90 universities/ higher education institutions which include 44 central universities and 12 state universities.
The slot 1 of the computerbased tests (CBTs) will commence from 9 AM and slot 2 from 3 PM. NTA has advised the aspirants to reach the venue two hours ahead of the start of the exam and stick to the individual entry-time stated in the admit cards. It has also advised candidates to carry the documents as mentioned in the admit card.

After the National Testing Agency (NTA) stated on Tuesday that it would consider requests for change of slot or centre, it has received only 70 requests so far, most of them for change of city. NTA director general Vineet Joshi said: “We have received around 70odd requests for change of slots and city which we have done and the candidates have been intimated. ”
On Wednesday, UGC chairman M Jagadesh Kumar said nearly 98% of the candidates got their first pre- ferred city and slot.
While NTA is having a final check of the logistics of the exam which will transform the way undergraduate admissions are conducted in the country, especially at most sought after central universities like Delhi University where Class XII marks used to be the deciding factor.
Around 8. 1 lakh candidates are to take the test in the first slot and 6. 8 lakh candidates in the second. These candidates have applied for 54,555 unique combinations of subjects across 90 universities.
“Given such a large number of subjects, a unique datesheet for every individual candidate has been created. Accordingly, advance intimation slip for examination city to all candidates with the date and city of the exam has been issued followed by admit cards,” said Kumar. Atotal of 44 central universities, 12 state universities, 11 deemed universities and 19 private universities have applied to participate in the first edition of CUET.