Second biggest entrance exam CUET-UG 2022 begins today

New Delhi, July 15: The first phase of the debut edition of the Common University Entrance Test (CUET)-UG began on Friday at test centres in over 510 cities in India and abroad.

Around 8.1 lakh candidates are taking the test in the first slot which began at 9 am on Friday. With 14.9 lakh registrations, the CUET, the common gateway for undergraduate admissions in all central universities, is now the second biggest entrance exam in the country, surpassing JEE-Main's average registration of nine lakh.

"The CUET (UG) 2022 has been scheduled for approximately 14,90,000 candidates, with around 8.1 lakh candidates in the first slot and 6.80 lakh candidates in the second. These candidates have applied for 54,555 unique combinations of subjects across 90 universities," UGC Chairman Jagadesh Kumar told PTI.

The exam will be conducted in two phases. Phase 1 will be held in July and Phase 2 in August. Candidates who have opted for Physics, Chemistry or Biology have been assigned to Phase 2 of the CUET exam, given that NEET (UG) - 2022 will be held on July 17.

"Given such a large number of subjects, a unique date sheet has been created for every individual candidate. Accordingly, advance intimation slips have been issued to all candidates with the date and city of the exam, followed by admit cards," he added.

A total of 44 central universities, 12 state universities, 11 deemed universities, and 19 private universities have applied to participate in the first edition of CUET-UG for admissions in the academic session 2022-23.

The UGC chief had in March announced that CUET scores, and not Class 12 marks, would be mandatory for admission to 45 central universities which can fix their minimum eligibility criteria.

Kumar had clarified that students from state boards will not be at a disadvantage under the new system and the exam will not give a push to the coaching culture.