CUET begins; many candidates miss exam due to last-minute change of centre

The first ever CUET was conducted on July 15 with hiccoughs and several complaints by the aspirants. Some parents complained that the location of the exam hall was changed barely hours before the exam, which led to several students missing the exam.

However, University Grants Commission chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said that some of the students were not allowed to attend the exam as they were late by 30 minutes even to the centres that were not alloted to them.

This is the first time that admissions to the undergraduate courses across the country will be held through an entrance exam. The government has been heavily criticised for the "mismanagement", with several students complaining that they found out their centres were changed after they reached the exam centres.

In a video statement, Kumar said that in some cases, students came after 9:30 am, which is half an hour after commencement of the exam, and they were not permitted as it is a common practice.

“Even if a candidate lands in a centre which was not allotted to them, we still permit them to take the exam in that centre provided they come within 30 minutes. However, if a few students have missed the exam because they turned up late, there is no way we can conduct a retest for them,” Kumar said.

He added that if a student has additional papers in the coming days, they can continue to write those papers. “... depending on the admission policy of the university, if the discourse from those papers are used in those universities, they can still apply in those universities,” he said.

Kumar urged students to reach exam centres well before time. “Please write to NTA to change the centre or contact the helpline, we will try to help you,” Kumar said.

Stressed with taking the CUET for the first time ever, several students missed the paper due to change in the exam centre. The National Testing Agency (NTA) officials said that they will be given a second chance to study in a central university.

18-year-old Aanchal from Delhi, who missed her exam, standing at DU’s North Campus, said she was disallowed entry after she landed there from Dwarka where her centre was assigned.

“I was informed that my centre has been changed. I panicked and did not know what to do. After a two-hour journey when we finally reached the North Campus, they told us that the time for entering the exam centre has passed," she told PTI.

On whether she was informed about the change of centre beforehand, she said, "I checked my mail only after I was informed that this is not my centre. I would have checked it earlier had I known that the centre would be changed."

Despite the stress, students said that the exam was fairly easy, with some students saying that the general knowledge section was a little tough.

Kumar said that the test was conducted in 245 centres and the attendance was 85 per cent. “To ensure the exam was conducted in a secure environment, 5,000 surveillance CCTV cameras and 1,500 jammers were deployed,” Kumar said.