The Central Government sanctioned the establishment of the National Recruitment Agency. Accordingly, the NRA will hold the Common Eligibility Test (CET). This test shortlists candidates for non-gazetted Group B and Group C positions in the state and central government offices. The NRA CET eligibility will be according to the level of examination selected by the candidate, such as the 10th, 12th, or graduate level. The NRA CET eligibility will also include an appropriate age limit.
Currently, several employment agencies hold multiple entrance tests for the abovementioned positions. CET will replace them with a single test. The NRA CET 2022 result will be valid for three years. There will be no limit to the number of attempts, and the best of these scores will be considered for selection.
The NRA CET 2022 will combine preliminary test or tier-1 exam for three government organisations, Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Railway Recruitment Board (RRB), and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection. It will be extended to include all non-gazetted positions eventually.
Advantages of NRA CET:
- The NRA CET will minimise the number of tests held by multiple agencies.
- It will also reduce costs as candidates will now have to pay for only one application and travel to only one centre.
- Because of the unified and centralised nature of the test, the results can be used later by other authorities in shortlisting individuals for employment.
- The NRA CET has the potential to reduce corruption and fraud significantly.
- There will be no limit to the number of attempts.
- NRA CET will increase transparency in the recruitment process of government agencies.
Benefits of NRA CET
- NRA CET has made it possible for candidates from remote locations to apply for multiple positions by taking a single test. This reduces cost and time significantly.
- The CET score will be effective for three years from the date of the result’s announcement.
- The CET syllabus and structure will reduce stress. Now, candidates won’t have to look at the different syllabi to prepare for multiple exam patterns.
- A uniform registration platform will allow applicants to select their preferred exam centre, which would be assigned depending on their capacity. The government intends to establish test centres in all parts of the country so that, eventually, applicants can get a centre of their choosing.
NRA CET Exam 2022 Difficulties
Despite the advantages, the NRA CET may encounter a few obstacles once implemented.
- Because the NRA CET will be a standard test for multiple agencies in the future, finalising the common acceptable syllabus and test structure will be the most difficult challenge.
- It is unclear if the NRA CET will be qualifying in nature or if its results will be added to the Mains test and final score.
The CET aims to replace several entrance tests with a single one and bring much-needed transparency to the recruitment process for government jobs. It also reduces complexity and makes the entire process more efficient. The NRA CET notification will include information regarding examination structure and other processes. It is expected that NRA CET 2022 will be conducted towards the end of the year. Learn more
