Will Engineering aspirants find CUET 2022 a bankable option – Times of India

Student-friendly move

“The exam will provide an additional pathway for engineering aspirants to get into college and the programme of their choice. They can aim to pursue BTech in some of the reputed central universities, which is at par with IITs/NITs. Thus, it is a new student-friendly move for UG admissions,” says a spokesperson of Bennett University (BU), where CUET scores are being accepted for the Engineering programmes, with upwards of 1.7 lakh students having shown interest. He elaborates, “With private universities opening their gates to students applying through CUET, there are immense opportunities now available to engineering aspirants.”

Limited choices


However, limitations lie in terms of courses offerings, restricting students’ choice of core Engineering disciplines in some universities. For instance, the Central University of Haryana is among the few central universities offering BTech in Computer Science & Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Printing & Packaging Technology, while the Central University of Karnataka has on offer two Engineering programmes – BTech in Electronics and Communication and another in Electrical Engineering. The University of Delhi (DU) is also offering only one BTech programme – in IT & Mathematics (under the Cluster Innovation Centre) though its BSc (Hons) programme has manifold choices – in Electronics, Computer Science, Information Technology, and Mathematical Innovations, to mention a few.

Speaking about the paucity of Engineering programmes under DU, vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh says, “Presently, DU is offering only one Engineering programme, though we have submitted a request to the Ministry of Education (MoE) to approve BTech in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Electronics and Communications Engineering. Once we receive the ministry’s nod, DU is ready to start admissions for these programmes from the 2022-23 academic year. Currently, DU has received 97,610 registrations for its BTech in IT & Mathematics programme as against the overall 6,34,832 registrations for all its programmes.”

Planning ahead


Academics claim that the common entrance test format for undergraduate students will provide equal opportunity to students from different boards, and therefore, a level playing field. “CUET will help normalise marks since it will be percentile-based. The conundrum of either taking admission or waiting for more results to be declared has always been one anxiety-filled period. And often, the last date for admission and declaration of results of different universities clash, leaving a student under the immense pressure of choosing the first option rather than the best. CUET will end this issue for students; one can plan based on their rankings rather than dates,” the spokesperson of Bennett University says.

Key differentiators

“Since the CUET syllabus is drawn from the NCERT syllabus prescribed for class XII and does not include class XI concepts contrary to JEE, engineering aspirants will find it easier to prepare for CUET as they have just finished writing their board exams and the concepts are fresh to them,” says Jitin Arora, head Academics-CUET, Career Launcher that is offering preparatory programmes on Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics based on the test series, online live and offline classroom sessions to the aspirants.

Better prospects

He explains that not every engineering college in the country is part of CUET, especially the IITs, NITs and IIITs. “Since the seats in these reputed institutions are limited, and not everyone can make it to those colleges, students will look forward to universities under CUET as their backup plan. It also becomes an alternative for them as most of the universities offering admissions to Engineering courses through CUET will also accept JEE scores. As student writing both the exams will be able to present the best score of the two, it will maximise their chances of selection,” Arora adds.