New Delhi, August 1: Universities can conduct their own entrance exams for undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) courses if seats remain vacant after the regular admission rounds, said the University Grants Commission (UGC) Thursday.

The decision has been taken with the aim of ensuring that no seat is left unfilled in any programme.

Speaking to ANI, UGC Chairman Prof M Jagadesh Kumar said every seat is valuable in universities, and the UGC has provided standard operating procedures (SOP) to the universities in utilising Common University Entrance Test scores for the admission process.

"This procedure includes multiple admissions rounds to fill seats. Central universities typically use the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) scores for admissions. If, after the first, second, and third rounds of admissions using CUET scores, some seats still remain vacant, the UGC has advised universities to relax the subject criteria to accommodate more students," Jagadesh Kumar said.

"In cases where seats are still not filled, universities are permitted to conduct their own entrance exams at the university level to fill these vacancies," he added.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) last week announced the results for the CUET-UG, paving the way to begin the undergraduate admission process, which has been delayed this year.

Prof. Kumar emphasised the importance of ensuring that no seats are left unfilled, stating, "Every seat is valuable in our universities. The universities must make all efforts to ensure that students are offered admission so that no seat is left unfilled."

The Common University Entrance Test for Undergraduates (CUET-UG) 2024 was conducted between May 15 and May 24, 2024. The exam saw around 13.48 lakh registrations, making it one of India's largest university entrance exams. CUET UG 2024 scores are being used for admissions across 47 central, 54 state, 37 deemed, 177 private and six other universities. CUET PG was conducted over 15 days in over 250 cities, including nine cities outside India, in March.

A staggering 4,62,725 candidates had registered for CUET PG 2024. The Common University Entrance Test (CUET PG-2024) was introduced in 2022 for admission into various PG programmes in central and state universities and institutions and participating deemed or private institutions for the academic session 24-25.

(ANI)

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