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CUET 2022 – Exam Format (Section-wise), Registration, Syllabus, Application Procedure
CUET 2022 – CUET has been in the news recently and a lot of buzz is going around regarding the recent changes proposed for the exam by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
So to keep you on track with it, let’s have a deep dive to learn the A to Z of the CUET exam, its exam pattern, syllabus, the universities under CUET, and all the necessary pieces of information regarding the exam.
So, let’s first know
What is CUET?
CUET stands for Common University Entrance Test. So, from the name itself, it clarifies its definition. CUET will be acting as a single window for the students willing to take admission to the undergraduate courses of different central universities across the country.
In the previous years, it has been noticed that many central universities have sky-rocketing cut-offs for admission to the undergraduate courses, including Delhi University.
The reason behind this is the different sorts of evaluation processes in different boards such as CBSE, CISCE, and other state boards, which makes it unfair for the students to get admitted to their preferred universities, due to the wide diversity of evaluation patterns.
So to streamline the process of undergraduate admission to different central universities across India, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has decided to start this common entrance test CUET, whose main focus will be “One India One Exam”.
CUET Exam Format
The level of attention CUET is getting & keeping in mind how essential this exam is going to be for the students entering the college, it has been made mandatory for all the high-school students to know the exam pattern and format of this particular exam. The Common University Entrance Test is going to be conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). According to the reports from NTA, CUET is going to be a purely computer-based exam that will consist of only Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ). So there’s no need for the students to get prepared for descriptive questions and answers, they can simply select the most preferable answer according to them and thus reducing the time involved.
According to the notice officially published by NTA, the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for the academic session 2022-23, which will give students the scope of admission to all UGC funded central universities for the study of the undergraduate courses, will have 4 sections that are Section IA, Section IB, Section II, and Section III.
Number of Section
Section IA and Section IB are language sections, Section II has domain-specific subjects, and Section III is the general test.
Section IA
Section IA will be offering 13 languages that are Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Odiya, Bengali, Assamese, Punjabi, English, Hindi, and Urdu. Students can select any of these languages as their preferred language for the first section.
Section IB will offer 20 languages which are French, Spanish, German, Nepali, Persian, Italian, Arabic, Sindhi, Sanskrit, Kashmiri, Konkani, Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Manipuri, Santhali, Tibetan, Japanese, Russian, Chinese. For this students can also choose any language from Section IA, but not mentioned in Section I B, but make sure you don’t choose any language twice.
The languages chosen in Section IA and Section IB must be the languages that the students had in their class 12 board examination.
There will be 50 questions in each language section which is Section IA and Section IB. Students need to attempt 40 questions from each of these sections. 45 minutes will be given to complete each of the sections which means 45 minutes for Section IA and another 45 minutes for Section IB.
All of these questions will be multiple choice questions which will provide the students with different options from which the students will have to select the correct or the most appropriate one. In these sections, the knowledge of the students will be tested through reading comprehension. The comprehensions will be based on different types of passages such as factual passage, literary and narrative passage, etc. The main objective of these two sections is to check the knowledge depth of the students by testing their literary aptitude, vocabulary.
Section II
Section II has 27 domain specific subjects to be chosen from. From these 27 domain subjects, the candidates need to choose a maximum number of 6 domains for this particular exam. These domain specific subjects are 1) Accountancy/Book Keeping, 2) Biology / Biological Studies / Biotechnology / Biochemistry, 3) Business studies, 4) Anthropology 5) Computer Science / Informatics Practices, 6) Economics / Business Economics 7) Engineering Graphics 8) Entrepreneurship 9) Geography / Geology, 10) History, 11) Mathematics, 12) Knowledge Tradition and Practices of India, 13) Legal Studies, 14) Environmental Science, 15) Home Science, 16) Sociology, 17) Physics, 18) Fine Arts / Visual Arts (Sculpture/ Painting) / Commercial Arts, 19) Psychology, 20) Physical Education / NCC / Yoga, 21) Teaching Aptitude, 22) Agriculture, 23) Drama – Theatre, 24) Chemistry, 25) Political Science, 26) Performing Arts – (i) Dance (Kathak / Bharatnatyam / Oddisi / Kathakali / Kuchipudi / Manipuri (ii) Music General (Hindustani/ Carnatic/ Rabindra Sangeet/ Percussion/ Non-Percussion) (iii) Mass Media / Mass Communication, 27) Sanskrit.
If the subject in which any applicant wants to pursue his/her graduation, is not mentioned in the domain, the candidate may choose the domain subject which is the closest and relates the most to his/her preferred subject choice. For example, if any candidate wants to study Biochemistry in his/her undergraduate course, then he/she may choose Biology as the domain subject.
Section II will also be consisting of 50 questions out of which 40 need to be answered. The time provided for each domain-specific subject will be 45 minutes. Students need to complete each section within this specific time period.
Section III
Section III is concerned with testing the general knowledge of the examinees. This section is for any such undergraduate programs which are offered by some universities, where general testing is considered for admission. In this section, there will be 75 questions given out of which the examinees will have to attempt 60 Questions. The time provided for this section is normally more than the time offered for the other sections due to the more number of questions to be attempted. So the time provided to complete this section is 60 minutes which is 1 hour. The syllabus for this section will be covering General Knowledge, Current Affairs, General Mental Ability, Numerical Ability, Quantitative Reasoning (the simple application of basic mathematical concepts arithmetic/algebra geometry/mensuration/stat taught up to Grade 8) Logical, and Analytical Reasoning
According to the notice published by the National Testing Agency (NTA), students can use input text for multiple-choice questions (MCQs). The questions will be purely based on the class 12 NCERT syllabus, so there will be no need of preparing separately for this exam. The ones who have prepared well for their class 12 board exam are likely to perform well enough in CUET.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has also kept in mind the thought of the students who wish to pursue graduation in different branches of Sanskrit. So they have asked those students who want to choose Shastri in Veda, Paurohitya (Karmakand), Dharamshastra, Prachin Vyakarana, Navya Vyakarana, Phalit Jyotish, Siddhant Jyotish, Vastushastra, Sahitya, Puranetihas, Prakrit Bhasha, Prachin Nyaya Vaisheshik, Sankhya Yoga, Jain Darshan, Mimansa, AdvaitaVedanta, Vishihstadvaita Vedanta, Sarva Darshan, to choose Sanskrit as the domain subject.
The students who will choose Sanskrit as their domain subject in Section II, their Reading Comprehension (based on different types of passages–Factual, Literary and Narrative, [Literary Aptitude and Vocabulary] will get tested in Section IB.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has also given the students the privilege to choose 3 instead of 2 languages from Section IA and Section IB taken together. But then the 3rd language chosen will be in lieu of the 6th domain subject selected by the candidate.
Let’s simplify this by saying, in the first rule, a candidate can give tests of a total of 9 papers, that are, 2 languages for Section IA and Section IB, 6 domain subjects, and 1 general test. And in the second rule, the number of papers remains the same but the distribution changes to 3 languages for Section IA and Section IB, 5 domain subjects, and 1 general test.
Thus the National Testing Agency (NTA) has given the flexibility to the applicants to choose the papers as per their choice.
Applicants are also given the flexibility and scope to apply to many universities, but they must qualify the eligibility conditions of the particular universities they will be applying for.
So in a nutshell, the exam format of the CUET (UG) exam 2022 is as follows –
Section IA – 1 language out of 13 languages,
Section IB – 1 language out of 20 languages,
Section II – 6 (maximum) domain subjects out of 27 domains,
Section III – 1 general test.
45 minutes will be given for each language subject and domain subject, and 60 minutes will be given for the Section III paper for the general test.
CUET 2022 Syllabus
For Section IA and IB, the language depth of the students will be tested through Reading Comprehension (based on different types of passages–Factual, Literary, and Narrative [Literary Aptitude & Vocabulary]
The syllabus for Section II will be purely based on NCERT Class 12 syllabus.
Whereas the syllabus for the general test of Section III will be consisting of General Knowledge, Current Affairs, General Mental Ability, Numerical Ability, Quantitative Reasoning (Simple application of basic mathematical concepts of mensuration/arithmetic/algebra geometry/stat taught till Grade, 8) Analytical and Logical Reasoning.
The CUET (UG) 2022 conducting authority has clearly stated that the exam will be purely based on the syllabus of the class 12 NCERT board, thus students won’t need to go through any other preparation phase for qualifying for this exam. Students who have prepared quite well for their class 12 board exam are expected to perform nicely in CUET (UG) 2022 too.
Now the question arises, is CUET (UG) 2022 open for repeating candidates?
The answer is YES.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has cleared all such doubts by clearly stating that the repeating candidates are open to applying for CUET (UG) 2022 exam, but only if the university to be applied for, permits. The repeating candidates must qualify the eligibility criteria of the respective universities he/she will be applying for. Though the running candidates must also satisfy the eligibility conditions of the respective universities.
Application date for CUET 2022
Last Sunday, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced that the application process for CUET (UG) 2022 will commence on 6th April, 2022 and the last date to apply for this exam is 6th May, 2022. For application, the students need to visit the official website of CUET and complete the procedure. The CUET authority that is the National Testing Agency (NTA) will make the application form available on their website on and from the due date. The Common University Entrance Test (Undergraduate) 2022 will be a fully computer-based multiple-choice format exam, across 45 central universities all over India. So the aspirants willing to apply to their desired university must check the information bulletin to take admission to the undergraduate program. The central universities will publish all the necessary details for admission to their institution, on their respective portals, so the candidates must make sure to check the notifications often.
Schedule of the examination
The exam date for CUET (UG) 2022 is yet to be announced. But the exam will take place for multiple days in two shifts.
Universities other than central universities are also likely to be a part of CUET. UGC Chairman Jagadesh Kumar has expressed the willingness to include other state universities, deemed to be universities under CUET (UG), in order to streamline the process of admission to undergraduate courses.
Previously the students had to give multiple entrance exams for different universities for admission in undergraduate courses, which used to harass the students a lot. So to put an end to this process, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has brought this idea to the table.
According to the reports, UGC Chairman Jagadesh Kumar had held a meeting with the heads of other states, deemed to be private, and higher education institutes, where these other universities have expressed their willingness to adopt and consider CUET marks while taking the admission of students for undergraduate courses.
NTA has also indicated that they might conduct CUET (UG) exam twice a year, from the next session.
Universities under CUET (UG) 2022
NTA authority is going to conduct the CUET (UG) 2022 exam at 154 test centers across the country. Here’s sharing the names of the colleges and universities under CUET (UG) 2022 exam –
1) Banaras Hindu University
2) Jamia Millia Islamia
3) Aligarh Muslim University
4) Delhi University
5) Jawaharlal Nehru University
6) Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University
7) Tezpur University
8) Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya
9) University of Allahabad
10) Visva-Bharati University
11) English and Foreign Languages University
12) Dr. Hari Singh Gour University
13) North Eastern Hill University
14) Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University
15) University of Hyderabad
16) Manipur University
17) Pondicherry University
18) Rajiv Gandhi University
19) Tripura University
20) Assam University
21) Nagaland University
22) Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya
23) Maulana Azad National Urdu University
24) Mizoram University
25) Indira Gandhi National Tribal University
26) Sikkim University
27) Central University of South Bihar
28) Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture University
29) National Sanskrit University
30) Indian Maritime University
31) Central Sanskrit University
32) Indira Gandhi National Open University
33) Central Agricultural University
34) Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri National Sanskrit University
35) Central University of Gujarat
36) Central University of Haryana
37) Central University of Himachal Pradesh
38) Central University of Kashmir
39) Central University of Jharkhand
40) Central University of Karnataka
41) Central University of Kerala
42) Central University of Odisha
43) Central University of Punjab
44) Central University of Rajasthan
45) Central University of Tamil Nadu
46) Nalanda University
47) South Asian University
48) Central University of Jammu
49) Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University
50) Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University
51) Mahatma Gandhi Central University
52) National Sports University
53) Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh
54) Central University of Andhra Pradesh
These 54 universities have granted CUET (UG) scorecards for admission to their institutions.
So, in a nutshell, CUET (UG) exam is going to streamline and make the undergraduate admission process easier for students.