NEW DELHI: Central universities now have the option to hold their own entrance exams or admit students based on qualifying exam marks if seats remain vacant after the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) admissions, the University Grants Commission (UGC) announced on Thursday. The UGC emphasized that leaving seats vacant for an entire academic year is a waste of resources and denies many aspiring students the opportunity for quality higher education in central universities.

Despite this new measure, the UGC clarified that CUET scores will still be the primary criterion for student admissions.

"Some central universities have reported vacant seats even after three or four rounds of counselling. Keeping these seats empty wastes resources and denies students access to quality higher education," UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar explained.

To address this issue, the UGC has introduced Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to help central universities fill their vacant seats. "Students who participated in CUET but did not apply to the respective university earlier may also be considered," Kumar added.

The commission has suggested that universities may consider students who appeared in CUET, regardless of the specific domain subjects they took. Universities may also relax subject-specific criteria for certain courses. If seats remain unfilled even after this, universities may conduct their own entrance exams or screening tests.

Additionally, universities can admit students based on their qualifying exam marks. The entire admission process must be merit-based and transparent, with adherence to the reservation roster for all courses and programs.

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