‘Marks awarded to absentees’: NTA under scrutiny again over alleged evaluation errors in NIFT 2026 result

Once again, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has come under scrutiny after hundreds of candidates who appeared for the National Institute of Fashion Technology Entrance Examination (NIFTEE) 2026 exam alleged discrepancies in their scorecards. Students have flagged cases where those who skipped the Situation Test were awarded marks, while others who appeared for the test were marked absent.

The NTA declared the NIFT 2026 final results on June 3 for admission to BDes, and BFTech programmes. A few days after the announcement, students raised “serious anomalies in their scorecards,” as per a report by Keshav Agarwal, vice president of the Coaching Federation of India (CFI).

According to students, those who did not appear for the Situation Test, a mandatory stage 2 for BDes admissions, were awarded marks. Whereas, other candidates who appeared for the exam were marked as absent.

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NIFT 2026 Result: Situation Test carries 20% weightage

“I never went for the Situation Test. I had decided to pursue BFTech only. But my scorecard shows Situation Test marks. I don’t know how to explain this to anyone,” a NIFT 2026 aspirant said.

The Situation Test carries a weightage of 20% in the final composite score similar to CAT’s 50% and GAT’s 30%. Students alleged that being wrongly marked absent effectively zeroes out that 20% component, potentially pushing a student below the cutoff and out of the merit list entirely, the report said.

Moreover, there were also attendance related issues, where several students who appeared for the examination have reported that the scores reflected in their scorecards are significantly lower than what they expected based on their performance, the report added.

Others have also expressed that they are unable to reconcile their in-exam experience with what the scorecard shows, and without access to answer sheets or detailed evaluation records, there is no mechanism available to them to independently verify the marks, it said.

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Hold NIFT 2026 counselling for BDes admissions: Students to NTA

Furthermore, students have also alleged inconsistencies in attendance records across different components of the NIFT 2026 exam and raised concerns over possible biometric verification issues during the Situation Test, the report said.

The NTA had earlier announced that the NIFT 2026 result would be delayed by the end of May, however, they were declared on May 3, to which students stated that delay disrupted their alternative admission plans while they awaited the NIFT outcome.

Ergo, the students’ group and parents have urged the NTA to hold the BDes and BFTech counselling and review the attendance records, along with disputed scorecards.

They have also requested the agency to resolve all discrepancies before seat allocation begins, calling an independent audit of the result-compilation process.