Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has written to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan requesting him to exempt the state from conducting Common University Entrance Test (CUET).

Citing students facing challenges to attempt the exam due to the delay of the State Board examination, the Chief Minister said, "The State of Meghalaya has recently undergone a Legislative Assembly Election the results of which have been declared last week. This has resulted in the delay of State Board examination and in this regard, students are facing unprecedented challenges to attempt the CUET for the State level undergraduate’s institutions."

"In light of the above, and as most of the colleges in the state are affiliated to the North Eastern Hill University, I request your good office to kindly exempt the State of Meghalaya from conducting the CUET," he added.

Conrad Sangma further said that he is grateful that the National Testing Agency (NTA) as a premier autonomous and self-sustained testing organization is conducting an entrance examination (CUET) for admission/fellowship to higher educational institutions to assess the competence of candidates for admissions which has always been a challenge.

Sangma also mentioned that the state government has taken steps to create a State University, for which they would be receiving the approval of the Governor of Meghalaya.

Last year, the Central government had exempted the students of Meghalaya from CUET following a request made by the chief minister.

The Meghalaya Board of School Education recently issued a circular stating that students appearing for the Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSSLC) Examination 2023 need to sit for the CUET if they intend on applying to central universities for their undergraduate studies.