E-Paper
CUET-UG tech glitches: 1st shift delayed, 2nd cancelled
The first shift of the Common University Entrance Test for CUET-UG on Thursday was postponed for various centres in 17 states while its second shift was cancelled across all centres due to administrative and technical glitches, the NTA said.
The first shift of the Common University Entrance Test for undergraduate admissions (CUET-UG) on Thursday was postponed for various centres in 17 states while its second shift was cancelled across all centres due to administrative and technical glitches, the National Testing Agency (NTA) said.
Now the exams for the affected candidates will be conducted between August 12 and August 14, the agency said.
It also cancelled the CUET-UG scheduled for August 4, 5 and 6 in Kerala till further notice due to heavy rain in the southern state.
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The second phase of the maiden CUET-UG kicked off on Thursday and will continue till August 20. The first phase of CUET was conducted between July 15 and July 20 with 191,586 students appearing for it.
“Due to various technical and administrative reasons, the exams scheduled for August 4 in the first shift (9 am to 12.15 pm) were postponed to August 12 for several centres in 17 states,” NTA said in a statement.
Besides, the exams scheduled in the second shift (from 3pm to 6 pm) were canceled across the country due to the technical issues reported in downloading question papers, said NTA, which is entrusted with conducting the country’s second largest exam.
“The question papers for the second shift of the examination could only be uploaded at 5 pm and the download at 489 centres could start at 5.25 pm, while the exam was scheduled to begin at 3 pm,” the statement added.
The agency said the same admit cards will be valid for the concerned candidates whose examinations have been postponed. “In case the 12-14 August 2022 is not suitable, the candidates can send an email to datechange@nta.ac.in mentioning their desired date and roll number,” the statement added.
A senior NTA official said the agency sought reports from the observers and coordinators from the ground. “Based on their inputs, it was decided that the second shift scheduled for August 4 should be canceled and the same exam will now be conducted between August 12 and August 14,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
“We also received reports that similar issues were reported at several centres in 17 states in the first shift exam. Therefore, exams at those centres were also cancelled,” the official added.
The 17 states and Union territories where the first-shift exam was affected are: Arunachal Pradesh (Namsai and Pasighat), Assam (Nalbari), Chhattisgarh (Bilaspur), Delhi (New Delhi), Haryana (Ambala), Jharkhand (Bokaro, Giridih, Jamshedpur, and Ramgarh), Ladakh (Leh), Madhya Pradesh (Sagar), Maharashtra (Aurangabad, Raigad, Satara, and Wardha), Odisha (Koraput), Puducherry (Karaikal), Rajasthan (Jodhpur), Tamil Nadu (Coimbatore, Dindigul, Tiruvarur, Viluppuram, Virudhunagar), Tripura (Agartala), Uttar Pradesh (Noida, Varanasi), Uttarakhand (PauriGarhwal), and West Bengal (Hooghly).
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Several students said they were informed about the cancellation of exams two-three hours after reaching their centres. “We were not given any prior notice by the NTA. Only after reaching the centre in Noida Sector 64, we were informed that the exam was canceled,” said Raj Singh, an aspirant. “There was no official notice from NTA in this regard till evening.”
Some students also complained about technical issues they faced during the test. “I reached the centre at 8.15 am and the exam was supposed to be over by 12.15 pm. Until 10.30 am, my paper had not even started due to a technical issue,” said Shivika Kankaria, a candidate from Lucknow.
