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Students Union Urges JNU to Withdraw from CUET PG
Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) has formally requested the university to withdraw from using the CUET PG 2025 exam for admission. They would prefer JNU to start its own entrance test, the JNUEE (Jawaharlal Nehru University Entrance Examination), for all programs—undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD.
Why does JNUSU Oppose CUET PG?
In a letter to the Vice Chancellor, JNUSU detailed why they are dissatisfied with the existing CUET PG system:
Exorbitant application fees: They claim that the application fee has increased and is now beyond most students' means, particularly poor and marginalized students.
Old vs New Fees:
JNUSU believes that CUET was intended to simplify and reduce the cost of admissions, but this hike is doing the exact opposite. They also believe that it's unjust and makes things cumbersome for disadvantaged students to apply.
Problems with CUET PG
CUET PG is a national entrance examination conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). It is utilized for admissions into postgraduate courses in 191 Indian universities. These are:
- Central Universities such as JNU, DU, BHU, AMU
- State Government Universities
- Private and Deemed Universities
Though CUET is intended to centralize admissions, it has been critiqued for:
- Normalization issues (rendering scores comparable across various test shifts)
- Technical issues
- Inconvenience to rural students
- Issues for PhD candidates
JNUSU Alleges NTA is Performing Badly
The students also blamed the NTA for being "incompetent and corrupt." They feel that the examination body is not being rational in approaching the exam process and merely giving trouble to students.
What are JNUSU's Demands?
The union calls for JNU to:
- Withdraw from CUET PG 2025
- Reintroduce JNUEE for all levels (UG, PG, and PhD)
- Maintain fees low
- Take complete control of its admissions to itself
Also Read: CUET PG Exam Pattern (Revised)
They cited the University of Hyderabad as an example. That university made a decision to conduct its own entrance test for PhD courses so that it doesn't have to spend too much on CUET and face its problems. JNUSU instructs JNU to do the same.
What's Next?
The decision rests with the JNU administration. If they concur with the students, JNU can again hold its own entrance tests as it did before the institution of CUET.
