CUET not required for admission to colleges in Nagaland, say Officials

KOHIMA — Students seeking admission in Nagaland University (NU) and its affiliated colleges within the state are not required to take the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), officials clarified on Wednesday.

Clearing doubts on criteria for taking admission in various higher education institutions in the state, ahead of the HSLC and HSSLC results declaration slated for April 26, the Commissioner and Secretary to the government of Nagaland, Anenla T Sato, told Eastern Mirror that the CUET is for aspiring students who want to study outside the state.

Noting that there is confusion among students and parents on this, Sato said CUET is mandatory for students aspiring to study outside the state but Nagaland has sought exemption for NU and its affiliated colleges.

Dr. Medongoi Rhakho, Deputy Director (Academics) of the Higher Education Department, said that the NU was granted exemption for the last academic year and this year as well, adding that the state cannot ask colleges to implement CUET.

Explaining further, he said that the state does not have the facility to conduct large scale computer-based tests, and the question of the affiliated colleges (under Nagaland University) using CUET scores for seeking admission, does not arise.

Rhakho said that most institutions utilise Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE) scores for undergraduate admissions, besides Central Board of School Education (CBSE) scores and ‘hardly any colleges is conducting any entrance test for admission as far as undergraduate (UG) courses are concerned’.

The officials clarified that using CUET scores for admissions in NU affiliated colleges is not applicable, and there is no need for a separate notification regarding the exemption. The state government has requested NU to allow affiliated colleges to admit students based on NBSE scores.

Meanwhile, Menuokholie Kire, Joint Director (Admin) and State Project Director (RUSA), shared that the department has requested a five-year exemption for students pursuing studies within Nagaland. However, those seeking admission outside the state are still required to write CUET.

The officials also informed out that many universities outside the state accept admission without CUET score.

It may be mentioned that a total of 17,911 candidates (Arts – 14,167, Commerce – 949 and Science – 2,521) had appeared for HSSLC and 22,136 for HSLC Examination 2024 conducted by NBSE.