Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has decided to drop weightage to personal interviews of candidates for admission to postgraduate courses in 2025-26, continuing with a series of contentious measures after the Centre took over the power to appoint its key functionaries.
The admission brochure released by the leading institution in social sciences last week said that 100 per cent weightage would be given to the Common University Entrance Test (CUET)-PG for selection. The application fee, too, has nearly doubled this year.
Various student groups have come out against the policy, arguing that making the CUET score the sole determinant for admission will affect the entry of SC, ST and
OBC candidates.
In 2023, the education ministry approved changes to the deemed university regulations to take over the power to appoint the chancellors and vice-chancellors in TISS and four other centrally funded deemed universities. Since then, the ministry has been pushing its agenda on these institutions, including forcing them to join centralised entrance tests, former students’ union president Atul
Ravindra alleged.
TISS conducted its entrance till 2023-24. For admission to PG courses for 2024-25, the institute joined the CUET-PG conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). However, 75 per cent weightage was allotted to the CUET-PG score and 25 per cent to personal interviews, a practice to judge the understanding of a student in the subject for which she has applied.
“The institute had plans to discontinue the interview last year too. The government wanted that. But it was continued because of protests. Now, the institute is taking disciplinary action for every small protest. Students are concerned and hesitant to protest. Now, they have dropped interviews,” Ravindra said.
Ravindra said that the CUET does not have tests in specialised areas under specific subjects. “The TISS offers Master’s programmes in specialised areas under broad subjects but the CUET offers the papers in broad subject areas. There were some checks and balances due to the interview. Now, the quality of selection of candidates will suffer by giving 100 per cent weightage to CUET,” Ravindra said.
On the other hand, in 2024-25, the application fee was ₹500 for a general candidate which has been increased to ₹900 for 2025-26. For SC and ST candidates, the fee has doubled to ₹500.