Dhaka University is likely to start the tests for first-year undergraduate admission for 2020-21 academic year from October 1 after a two-month Covid-induced delay, officials said.

The university’s Deans' Committee recommended the new date _ it was earlier scheduled to begin on July 31 _ at a meeting on Tuesday.

DU Pro-Vice-Chancellor (academic) Prof. ASM Maksud Kamal said the decision will be finalized after approval from Vice-Chancellor Prof. M Akhtaruzzaman on Wednesday, ensuring the exam dates don’t conflict with the university’s academic schedule.

According to the revised schedule, DU Ka Unit (science faculty) exam will be held on October 1, Kha unit (arts faculty) on October 2, Ga Unit (business faculty) on October 22, Gha unit (social science faculty) on October 23, and the general knowledge exam of Cha Unit on October 9.

The admission tests will be held in divisional cities across the country considering the pandemic situation.

Also read: HC questions exclusion of SSC-2016 passed students from admission test

The test for each unit will be marked out of 100. The Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) section will carry 30 marks and the written section 50 marks.

The remaining 20 marks will be awarded based on the applicants SSC and HSC grade point average (GPA).

The deans’ committee also decided to hold first-year undergraduate admission exams for the 2020-21 academic year for the seven affiliate colleges from October 29. It was scheduled to be held on October 1.

The exams for the science unit will be held on Oct 29, those for the art and social science unit on Oct 30 and those for the business unit on November 5.

Admission seekers can apply online starting from 4 pm on Saturday, July 10 and ending at midnight on Aug 20, Prof ASM Maksud, who is also chief coordinator of the affiliate colleges, told UNB.

Also read: JU admission seekers can pay application fees through bKash

The application fee for the 2020-21 academic year has been set at Tk 450 per student. The fees may be submitted through the state-run Sonali Bank’s Sonali Seba payment system and through mobile banking platforms bKash and Rocket.

In 2017, the government decided to bring seven colleges under Dhaka University's umbrella in order to improve the quality of education.

Since then, Dhaka College, Eden Mohila College, Begum Badrunnesa Government Girls’ College, Government Titumir College, Nazrul Islam College, Shaheed Suhrawardy College and Mirpur Bangla College have been affiliated with the university.