JOIN USCandidates 'storm' KMC over NET venue dispute
A huge crowd was seen on Sunday outside Delhi University’s Kirori Mal College, which was the centre for University Grants Commission’s (UGC) National Eligibility Test (NET).
The college officials said several students disrupted the exam after noting down the incorrect exam venue, while some students alleged that they were provided the wrong venue by the college coordinator.
The students who gathered outside KMC were from various centres.
They started protesting after they did not find their roll numbers at the venue. The UGC said in a statement that students mistakenly noted down the wrong venue for the exam. It has now announced to conduct fresh examination within a month.
The principal of KMC said information related to 79 examination centres was put up on the college website 10 days before the scheduled examination date.
“These students insisted that they be allowed to give the test. It is a complicated process to allow students to give the exam who are from a different centre. There can be problems in evaluation and confusion about roll numbers. There is a reason for why exam centres are allotted in the first place,” said an official of the college.
Tempers flare up
A PhD student, who reached KMC at 8.30 am, said, “I reached the coordinating university, KMC, to find my examination centre as they did not update it on their website. But that the college is a venue was written on the college gate. I called up the school in Rohini (examination centre) and they said there is no UGC NET exam being held over there.”
“When I was told there was no UGC NET exam, I was confused and could not think of anything except seeking answer from the coordinating college. They were supposed to update the centres 20 days before the examination.”
Another candidate who wanted to crack NET in order to try for the teacher’s vacancy in DU, which will start recruiting within three months, started crying after reaching the wrong venue as candidates in other cities had already started writing the exam.
“The students created a pandemonium at Kirori Mal College centre, forcibly entered the examination halls and snatched away examination sheets from the registered students who were busy writing the exams,” the UGC statement said.
Officials said they are working on the number of students affected.
“The UGC secretary along with the bureau head of NET exam visited the venue and assured the candidates that UGC will take appropriate decision in the matter,” added the statement.
Some eight lakh candidates had registered for the UGC-NET exam on Sunday across the country for lectureship and junior research fellowship.
It is considered one of the most important examinations in the country for entering the academics and teaching
industry.