Panel flags issue with CUET’s MCQ format
A parliamentary committee has flagged concerns over the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), saying its multiple-choice format may not suit humanities and social sciences, while calling for a review of its design and question quality in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.
The department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, headed by Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh, observed that CUET was brought from the 2022-23 academic year “to reduce the burden on students, universities, and the entire education system, and to bring candidates passing out from different boards on an equal footing”. However, some members of the Committee are not convinced of the merits of introducing the CUET as the universal admissions method for undergraduate studies, it said in a report submitted to Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan on Tuesday.
It was the 381st Action Taken Report on recommendations contained in the 364th Report on Demands for Grants (2025-26) pertaining to the Department of Higher Education. The report said, “Multiple-choice question (MCQ) answers are particularly ill-suited for humanities and social sciences disciplines, which are definitionally centred on independent, subjective thinking.”
“The Committee recommends review of the quality of the question paper and also design of the CUET exam to ensure that it meets the purpose envisaged in NEP, 2020,” the report said.
The Committee further observed that the CUET, as the sole entrance examination, has its merits, but it does not allow for Universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University, with their specific legislative mandates, to meet their specific needs.
“The Committee resolves to deliberate further on the matter,” it said.
“The JNU system of test administration was designed to ensure that the university was able to fulfil the criterion of socio-economic and regional diversity and representation mandated by the JNU Act in its admissions,” the report said.
In its Action Taken Report, the Government said the observations of the Committee were “duly noted” and that the University Grants Commission and the National Testing Agency have been suitably advised.
It said CUET is being conducted for admissions to central universities and participating institutions, providing a single application window allowing students to apply once and appear in one examination for admission to multiple universities.
It added that CUET has “emerged as the second-largest examination in India within two years with 13,54,699 applicants in 2025”. The report noted that the CUET(UG) structure has been rationalised after experience from the first three editions, and CUET(UG) 2025 was offered in 37 subjects, with results declared more than three weeks earlier in 2025 than in 2024.
