The Aryavarth Express
Agency (Meghalaya, Nagaland): Undergraduate students in Meghalaya and Nagaland seeking admissions to colleges affiliated with central universities have been exempted from the Central University Entrance Test (CUET), officials announced on Wednesday. This decision affects students applying to North Eastern Hill University in Meghalaya and Nagaland University in Nagaland.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma expressed gratitude to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for the exemption, acknowledging the support and understanding provided. In a post on X, Sangma stated, “Happy to inform our students that admissions to affiliated colleges to Central University’s in Meghalaya have been exempted from CUET for this academic year. I thank @dpradhanbjp ji for his continuous support and understanding.”
The exemption follows the state governments’ petitions to the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducted CUET for students seeking undergraduate admissions in both states’ central universities. A senior official from the Education Ministry confirmed that the University Grants Commission (UGC) had considered the requests from Meghalaya and Nagaland and decided to allow affiliated colleges to admit students according to existing practices for the 2024-25 academic year.
The letter issued to the Vice Chancellors of both universities stated, “I am directed to inform that the University Grant Commission has already considered the request received from the state of Meghalaya and Nagaland through the NTA and allowed affiliated colleges to take admission as per prevailing practice by giving exemption from CUET for the academic year 2024-25.”
The CUET faced significant challenges in Meghalaya and Assam after its commencement on May 15. Meghalaya Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma highlighted the state’s concerns, indicating that the government had taken the CUET examination seriously and had requested the NTA to either re-conduct the examination or exempt Meghalaya from the test.
