Shillong, April 21: The National Testing Agency (NTA) will soon set up centres in all the district headquarters of the state for conducting the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), which will be held in July.

This was informed by the Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui on Thursday after chairing a meeting with the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) authorities and the principals of different colleges to discuss on how to ensure smooth conduct of the CUET in the state.

The CUET has been introduced for admission into all Under Graduate (UG) Programmes in all Central Universities for academic session 2022-23 under the Ministry of Education (MoE).

The CUET will provide a common platform and equal opportunities to candidates across the country, especially those from rural and other remote areas and help establish better connections with the Universities.

A single examination will enable the Candidates to cover a wide outreach and be part of the admissions process to various Central Universities.

Stating that the CUET is a computer-based test, Rymbui however said Meghalaya does not have the digital infrastructure to conduct this test as of today there is only one centre in (Qualapatty) Shillong for the entire state.

“I have expressed the challenges faced by the state to conduct the CUET since the NTA has notified only two centres – one Shillong and one in Ri Bhoi, but what about the other districts,” he said.

The minister informed that the Additional Chief Secretary in-charge Education had taken up this concern with the NTA officials in New Delhi.

“They (NTA officials) have verbally assured that the centres will be set up in the district headquarters of Meghalaya,” he said while urging the students, who desire to pursue UG course to apply for the CUET through the NTA web portal which will be opened till May 6.

When asked, Rymbui said, “The CUET have been notified tentatively in the second week of July. So time is running out but the state government will try to pursue it with the central government but as of now CUET is the only option for admission into the UG courses in different colleges.”

Authorities of the different colleges have also been asked to help enlighten the students on the importance of the CUET and how to apply for the same, he added.

Meanwhile, Rymbui also revealed that the Additional Chief Secretary had also requested if CUET can be exempted from Meghalaya this year. “However as of now, the UGC is still sticking with the CUET and also requesting the NTA to set up centres for conducting the entrance test all over the state,” he added.