CUET-UG fourth phase: Students struggle with uninformed changes in exam dates, centres

NEW DELHI: Uninformed changes in exam dates, change in centres at the last moment, far off centres and no clarity on retest options -- students on second day of CUET's fourth phase were a worried lot. While two centres in Delhi were not included for the exam today, one centre in Gaya had a delayed start of exam in first shift.

The affected candidates from three centres will be given an option to appear on August 25. "Out of the 13 centres where the exam was cancelled on Wednesday due to unavoidable technical reasons, two centres in Delhi were not included for the exam on Thursday and the candidates of these two centres will be allowed to appear on August 25. One centre in Gaya, Bihar had a delayed start of exam in first shift due to which candidates were given option to appear either on Thursday or on August 25," UGC chairman Jagadesh Kumar said. Many candidates, who were permitted to reschedule their CUET UG exam to August 30, were shocked to find out that their exams were advanced to Thursday and the centres were far away from their preferred locations. They also claimed that no intimation was sent to them about the change in date. "My intimation slip mentioned my chosen city as the exam centre city.

However, when I got the admit card, I got a centre which is 150 km away and the entry closes at 8.30 am. I have been trying to reach the National Testing Agency (NTA), but no luck yet," said Neha Singhal, a CUET aspirant. Another aspirant, Anjali Mishra, said, "Till Wednesday afternoon, my admit card showed a different centre and today it is a different one. I had no intimation if my centre was changed last minute and have no clue whether I would get an option for retest." Nikhil Mishra said his admit card was not available till Wednesday night and he was able to download the admission certificate Thursday morning only to learn that his exam had already begun. "Till Wednesday, whenever I checked the website, the admit card was not available. It was made available today (Thursday) morning and the exam centre was two-and-half hours away from my place," he said. Himank Nassa, an aspirant, said on August 14, a mail was received that exams were scheduled for August 18 and August 25. "On August 16, a notification on the website showed we can either choose to appear for the exam on August 18 or postpone it to August 30 if we want the centre in our desired city. I opted for it and my request was approved. But this morning my admit card showed August 18 and the exam had already begin," Nassa said. On Wednesday as well, the exam was cancelled at 13 centres following technical glitches affecting more than 8,600 candidates.

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The University Grants Commission (UGC) had announced that the candidates affected on Wednesday would get a chance for retest on August 25. The Common University Entrance Test (CUET) is the common gateway for undergraduate admissions to all central universities. A total of 3.6 lakh candidates are eligible to appear for the fourth phase scheduled from August 17 to August 20. The exam for additional 11,000 candidates, who were to appear in the fourth phase from August 17-20, has been postponed to August 30 to accommodate their choice of city for centre. According to the initial plan, all phases of the CUET-UG were scheduled to conclude on August 20.

The NTA, which is responsible for conducting the entrance test, had later announced that all phases of the exam will conclude on August 28. However, now the schedule has been further deferred and the exam has been split into six phases. The second phase of CUET was marred by glitches prompting the agency to cancel the exam at various centres. UGC chief Jagadesh Kumar had said the exam was cancelled at various centres following indications and reports of "sabotage". The exam in second and third phases was also cancelled at centres in Kerala and Itanagar due to rains and landslides. Meanwhile, Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India (NSUI) activists on Thursday burnt the effigy of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and demanded his resignation. They staged a protest outside Shastri Bhavan, raising its concern over the National Testing Agency's "lack of infrastructure for conducting CUET". "While students from across the country are busy in their college admissions, those seeking admission in central universities are struggling to appear for the newly implemented entrance examination CUET, which got cancelled due to lack of infrastructure," NSUI said in a statement.