Will hold one-time exam for 3,765 students who couldn't complete CUET-UG exam due to technical glitches: NTA

New Delhi: After glitches in the CBSE Class 12 and the NEET-UG exams, the Common University Entrance Test for undergraduate courses (CUET-UG) exams were the latest to run into trouble, with several students complaining of glitches and delays in starting the exams.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) said that the technical glitches were due to the company hired to do the job, and that it will hold a one-time exam for the 3,765 students who could not complete the test.

The government came under fire from the Opposition, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying that not a single exam is “conducted with honesty” and that all these missteps in the CBSE, NEET-UG, SSC and now CUET-UG exams will affect the lives of 1 crore students.

The exams, which were supposed to be held on May 28, were rescheduled to be held on May 30 due to Bakrid. The exam was to be held in two shifts, but several complaints were made on social media about disruptions in the exams in the first shift.

The NTA, in a statement, soon said that Tata Consultancy Services, the company rolling out the exams, “has reported a technical glitch” which delayed the start of the start of the exams at some centres. It also said that, due to the delay, the evening shift was postponed to 4 pm from 3 pm.

“Morning-session candidates are being given the full duration of the paper and may exit only after completing it … The issue has since been resolved, and the exam is being conducted with full compensatory time so that no candidate is disadvantaged. NTA sincerely regrets the inconvenience caused to students and parents,” it said.

In another statement, the NTA further said that most candidates “about 95 per cent” were able to complete their exam once the exams resumed. “We understand that 3,765 candidates who were present and had completed biometric registration chose to leave before the exam could restart. For these candidates, NTA will hold a rescheduled examination as a one-time measure,” it said, adding that the new date and details will be announced soon.

The exam body asked students to follow the NTA website (nta.ac.in) and the CUET-UG portal (cuet.nta.nic.in) for updates, and asked students to reach out to 011-40759000 or [e-mail] for help.

The exam body has been in the midst of widespread outrage after several exams it was supposed to conduct, including the medical entrance tests NEET-UG, the class 12 board exams of the CBSE, the entrance to Staff Selection Commission tests, and now the undergraduate entrance tests, the CUET-UG, has run into glitches. The NEET-UG had to be cancelled.

Gandhi, who has been criticising the government over the issue, said the government is incompetent. “Four exams. One crore children. Not a single one conducted with honesty. Claims of ‘world guru’, but can’t conduct even one exam in the country - Modi ji has completely ruined the entire education system … The generation whose future you are destroying - that same generation will hold you accountable,” he posted on X.