R P Tiwari committee: common entrance test at undergraduate level

Description

Context: The UGC set up a seven-member committee, headed by Vice-Chancellor of Central University of Punjab R P Tiwari, "to consider the issue (of) holding common entrance test at undergraduate level only from the next academic year”.

The new NEP, released in July this year, advocates reducing the number of entrance tests to “eliminate the need for taking coaching for these exams”.
There are 40-odd central universities run by the Ministry of Education (MoE) and, collectively, all of them have about 1 to 1.25 lakh seats across different disciplines at the undergraduate level,.
Of these, currently about 16 central universities, all set up under the UPA-II government, have a common entrance test for Bachelor’s study.
If the NEP suggestion is implemented, the National Testing Agency will be tasked to conduct a common aptitude test as well as specialised common exams for different disciplines at least twice a year, for admission to bachelor’s in central universities.
Conducting a common entrance test seems simple but there are several intricacies. For instance, given the range of subjects offered across central universities, this committee will have to identify the disciplines for which separate tests will be needed.
While a joint entrance test was a good idea, a sensitive area would be streamlining the exam curriculum for all students.
Moving towards a joint entrance exam might encourage more multiculturalism