NTA postpones CUET-UG 2025 to May 13

With just days to go before the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) was originally expected to begin, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has pushed the undergraduate exam to May 13. The test was earlier tentatively scheduled to start on May 8.

According to sources, the delay stems from the NTA’s pending preparations. “The agency informed the University Grants Commission (UGC) that it could not go ahead with the earlier plan,” one official said.

While the UGC oversees the exam, it is the NTA that carries out its administration. Officials indicate that the NTA’s recent focus on conducting NEET-UG, which took place on May 4, may have contributed to slower progress on CUET-UG.

Still, Education Ministry sources maintain that exam centers for both exams are different, since NEET is conducted on paper while CUET is computer-based.

“Officials were working on both exams in parallel,” a source said.

Students, meanwhile, are facing uncertainty. Many have yet to receive exam city slips, with no clear schedule available.

“This delay is creating logistical difficulties for lakhs of students and their families,” said an educator involved in exam preparation.

The NTA had said in its March notification that the CUET-UG 2025 would be held between May 8 and June 1.

However, it has not released a formal date sheet so far. Candidates will instead receive city intimation slips, which may also include subject-wise schedules.

Unlike the hybrid format used last year, CUET-UG will again be conducted entirely in computer-based mode—similar to 2022 and 2023—with technical support from TCS, according to officials.

The test will be held in multiple shifts depending on center availability and will cover 37 subjects. Each paper will be 60 minutes long and contain 50 multiple-choice questions.

This year’s exam will be offered in 13 languages: English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

There is no age restriction, but students must meet individual universities' eligibility criteria.