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NEW DELHI: The National Testing Agency (NTA) seems to beryllium investigating students' patience. Just weeks aft the NEET-UG enactment triggered nationwide outrage, different large introspection conducted by the bureau has landed successful troubled waters.
This time, it is the Common University Entrance Test (CUET-UG) 2026, wherever method glitches and administrative disorder near students stranded wrong introspection centres, waiting for an exam that, successful immoderate cases, ne'er began.The opposition betwixt the NTA's authoritative connection and the acquisition narrated by students raises superior question. Several students who arrived astatine introspection centres to look for the CUET-UG introspection reported method glitches.However, NTA connection released precocious day did not notation the glitches during the greeting league astatine immoderate centres but intelligibly announced that the evening league astatine immoderate centres could commencement an hr late.
On Saturday afternoon, the NTA posted an update connected X, announcing revised timings for the evening displacement astatine immoderate centres and maintaining that for the greeting shift, "candidates are being fixed the afloat duration of the paper."
Students near waiting
Jatin, who appeared for exam astatine a centre successful Noida Sector 64 told TOI: "We were not told anything. We were simply asked to support waiting wrong the introspection hall. No 1 was consenting to perceive to us, and successful the end, we were told to spell home. After that, chaos broke retired astatine the centre," helium said.Akanksha, a CUET-UG aspirant, described a time marked by confusion, uncertainty and frustration.After leaving the introspection centre, Akanksha told TOI that students had completed each formalities but were near waiting for hours arsenic the exam failed to begin. She said, "The introduction clip was from 7.00 americium to 8.30 am. All the students entered the introspection centre, and the formalities, including biometric verification and attendance, were completed. The exam was scheduled to statesman astatine 9.00 am, but nary 1 informed the students astir the delay. They were simply told that they would beryllium updated erstwhile the introspection started and that the server was down."
'Server down' confusion
"By astir 10:30 am, the students became anxious and started asking questions.
At that point, immoderate officials disappeared for a while, portion others ignored the students and kept saying that an update would beryllium provided wrong 10-15 minutes regarding whether the exam would beryllium held oregon not," she said.
Claims of 'forced exit'
Akanksha besides claimed that students were forced retired of centre, "This continued until astir 11:30 am, aft which the students were abruptly told to permission the premises without immoderate due explanation.
The students began protesting and creating a commotion. Some bouncers threatened candidates, saying they would beryllium beaten if they did not leave. Students were past forcibly removed from the centre."
Afterward, the constabulary arrived, and protests by students began extracurricular the introspection venue.
Akanksha, CUET UG candidate
CBT nether scrutiny
The occurrence is peculiarly noticeable due to the fact that CUET-UG is already conducted successful Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode, the precise format that the authorities precocious opted for to curb "malpractices" successful NEET examination.The NTA, which conducts some NEET-UG and CUET-UG, has faced aggravated scrutiny implicit the past fewer years pursuing allegations of insubstantial leaks, information breaches and operational lapses successful assorted examinations.
Pradhan's promise
Ironically, conscionable days ago, Union acquisition curate Dharmendra Pradhan had reiterated the government's committedness to a "zero tolerance" argumentation towards introspection malpractices and announced a large displacement successful however NEET would beryllium conducted successful the future."The basal origin of this was OMR and therefore, from the adjacent year, the exam volition beryllium conducted successful Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode," Pradhan had said portion outlining reforms pursuing the NEET blunder.
Fresh questions for NTA
Yet hardly a period later, a computer-based introspection itself appears to person tally into superior occupation astatine 1 of its centres, raising caller questions astir whether the situation lies lone successful the introspection format oregon successful the systems liable for executing it.The NEET-UG insubstantial leak enactment had already shaken the assurance of lakhs of aesculapian aspirants and triggered a nationwide statement implicit introspection integrity, accountability and organization preparedness.Now, with CUET-UG aspirants reporting hours of uncertainty, abrupt cancellations and a deficiency of communication, the absorption has erstwhile again shifted to the bureau entrusted with conducting immoderate of India's astir important entranceway examinations.For thousands of students, the interest is nary longer constricted to whether an introspection is held online oregon offline. The larger question remains whether the strategy tin warrant what each aspirant expects connected exam day, a fair, creaseless and predictable process.An acquisition printed connected each NTA admit paper states that "Candidates indispensable not make obstacles successful the creaseless behaviour of the exams." Yet, questions are present being raised astir the agency's ain quality to guarantee that precise "smooth conduct", with different introspection nonaccomplishment surfacing little than a period aft the NEET-UG row.
