An increase of 41% has been registered in the number of students who will appear for this year’s Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for admission to undergraduate courses in Central universities.
As many as 16.85 lakh students have registered and 13.99 lakh students paid the application fee and submitted the form for this year, in an increase of about four lakh compared to last year’s figures. The deadline for applications was March 30.
University Grants Commission Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar said the number of participating universities has increased to 242 in 2023 from 90 in 2022. “This significant rise indicates that CUET-UG is becoming a popular option for admissions to UG programmes,” Prof. Kumar said.
Of the 13.99 lakh students who will sit for the examinations, 6.51 lakh are women. In 2022, 4.34 lakh applicants of the total 9.90 lakh were women. Compared to 2022, the increase in the number of women applicants is 50% and 34% in the case of men, said Prof. Kumar.
He stated that there is significant increase in the number of students from the ST, SC, OBC and Economically Weaker Section categories. “In 2022, the number of applications from the ST category was 58,881. But in 2023, it is 95,119, indicating a rise of 61.5% compared to 2022,” he said. “For SC category students, the applications in 2023 amount to 1,40,307, an increase of 35.5% compared to 2022,” he added.
The number of applications in 2023 for OBC-Non Creamy Layer, General-unreserved, and EWS category students is 4,61,022; 6,42,443 and 60,611, respectively. This indicates a rise of 45.2%, 39.6%, and 20.5% in the OBC-NCL, General-unreserved, and EWS category applications compared to 2022.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) had announced the schedule of CUET on December 15, 2022. The CUET-UG score will be used for admissions to B.A., B.Com, and B.Sc. programmes and for integrated dual degree BBA-LLB, B.Voc., B.Des., Bachelor of Architecture, Bachelor of Computer Application, Bachelor of Physiotherapy, Integrated B.Sc.-M.Sc. or Integrated BA-MA programmes.
University of Delhi, Banaras Hindu University, University of Allahabad, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University and Jamia Millia Islamia have received a large number of applications, as in 2022. The largest number of applicants is from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Bihar. The same three States accounted for the most number of applications in 2022 too.
Prof. Kumar said there is a considerable jump in the number of students from the Jammu and Kashmir region, and the northeastern region. From the south, the largest number of applicants is from Kerala. “In 2022, 37,303 students from Kerala applied for CUET-UG. In 2023, this number reached 56,111, indicating an increase of 51%. The second largest number of submitted applications in 2023 is from Tamil Nadu, which stands at 24,462 — an increase of 45% compared to 2022,” he said.
Last year, students from 59 countries submitted their applications for CUET-UG. In 2023, this number increased to 74 countries, with 1,000 applicants across Europe, Asia, America, and the Gulf countries.
