TISS admissions to be based on CUET alone; no interviews anymore

A tentative timeline announced by TISS for admission to postgraduate courses has not allotted any period to conduct interviews of short-listed candidates.

Confirming that TSS has decided to do away with the interview round, a senior official said, “This decision was taken in order to ensure complete transparency and timely admissions. No other social science institute conducts interviews of candidates for admissions. Due to this additional stage of interviews, our admission would prolong for almost a month longer than others’ and we would lose out on students.”

Stating that it is also cost-effective to eliminate interviews, the official said the administration believed that the change would ensure complete transparency.

“Admissions based only on CUET marks will ensure that meritorious students get admission to TISS. In the past people have raised questions about assessment in the interview stage. As opposed to assessments done during interviews, the CUET score is objective, leaving no room for any confusion among candidates,” said an official, adding that the decision was made well in advance.

Five student associations active on the TISS campus—the Adivasi Students’ Forum (ASF), Ambedkarite Students Association (ASA), Fraternity, North East Students Forum (NESF) and Progressive Students Forum (PSF)—have issued a joint statement opposing the decision.

“Online Assessment, especially interview in TISS admission process, always helped students from varied social backgrounds, including those from vernacular mediums, those without access to coaching, and those who express their thoughts through subjective understanding rather than objective answering skills. Removing interviews risks cutting out these voices, and making our campus inaccessible to a large section of students. We are witnessing the changes in the campus demography since CUET was implemented. These changes will deepen if interviews are removed altogether,” read their statement.

Last year, students objected when the institute replaced its traditional entrance test, TISS-NET, with CUET.

In the statement, the students further said, “The introduction of CUET for admissions last year has homogenised the student body, making it difficult for those who cannot afford the additional expenses or lack access to specific coaching centres catering to this particular exam format. The shift to CUET with further scrapping of the interview process would compromise the inclusive and diverse character of TISS campus.”