CUET 2023: After the introduction of CUET for admission to UG programs in Central Universities, there has been a decline in the enrollment numbers in UG programs in DU and BHU. At the same time, there has been a huge decrease in the enrollment of girl students in DU.
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CUET 2023: Central University Entrance Examination for Undergraduate Programs (CUET) The total number of students taking admission in Delhi University, one of the largest central universities in the country, has declined by a quarter this year since the introduction of the scheme. At the same time, there has also been a huge decrease in the enrollment of girl students. Admission in UG programs has also decreased in BHU.
According to the news published in the Indian Express, DU’s enrollment figures have reached a five-year low. From 73,374 students in 2018-19 to 64,915 in 2022-23. There were around 70,000 UG seats on offer this year. The decline in admissions is even sharper than last year, with 22,283 fewer enrollments, a 25.5% decrease.
37.75% drop in number of girl students in UG admission
A major reason for the shortfall this year is due to the number of girl students getting admission in DU. Enrollment of girl students in UG programs fell by 37.75%, from 54,818 in 2021 to 34,120 in 2022-23. Student enrollment, on the other hand, saw only a marginal drop of 1,585 from 32,380 in 2021 to 30,795 this year.
Overall, this year girl students enrolled 52.5% of the total number of undergraduate students in DU, while in 2021-22 this number was 62.87%. As a result, the student ratio increased from 37.13% in 2021-22 to 47.44% in this session.
More than 9 lakh candidates appeared in CUET
The 2022-23 academic session was the first time that the CUET UG entrance exam was conducted for admission to undergraduate programs in central universities. A total of 9.68 candidates appeared in the examination, out of which 4.29 lakh were girls and 5.38 were boys.
According to DU Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh, the university administration will look into the reasons for the changed structure of DU. He said that if it is so then we will look into the matter and take necessary steps. Sanjeev Singh, head of the Delhi University Computer Centre, who played a key role in making the entire admission process online, said the low admission is an indication that CUET has helped overcome the problem of over-enrolment against sanctioned seats.
Till last year, admissions were based on cut-off marks (based on students’ performance in class 12 board exams). Sometimes, for 20 seats, 250 students (with the same marks in class 12th) were admitted, which led to over-admission of students. Admissions under CUET are done on first come first serve basis. So you cannot compare this year’s admission figures with 2021 as the process was different.
Decline in UG admissions in BHU as well
The decline in total enrollment of girls and boys was also observed in Banaras Hindu University (BHU), which along with DU, received the maximum number of applications for admission to UG programs through CUET. In BHU, 14,386 students were admitted to UG and Post Graduate (PG) programs in 2022, 7,196 (50.02%) girls and 7,190 (49.98%) boys, In 2021, 19,880 students were admitted to the university, of which 9,572 were girls ( 48.15%) and 10,308 are boys (51.85%).
Enrollment rate increased in higher education
In this regard, UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar said that the AISHE report says that enrollment in higher education has increased to 4.14 crore, which has crossed the four crore mark for the first time. Already registered an increase of 7.5%. 2019-20 and 21% from 2014-15. Female enrollment has reached the two crore mark, an increase of 13 lakh from 2019-20.
He said that even though DU and BHU have registered less student enrollment as compared to last year, there has been an increase in the total student enrollment across the country. The concerned universities should analyze the reasons for the decline in their enrollment and take appropriate steps.
