Staff Reporter / Agencies /New Delhi
In yet another setback for the National Testing Agency (NTA), technical glitches disrupted the morning session of the Common University Entrance Test-Undergraduate (CUET-UG) on Saturday, delaying the examination by nearly two hours at several centres across the country and leaving thousands of students unable to take the test.
The incident has renewed concerns over the NTA’s ability to conduct large-scale examinations smoothly, coming amid continuing scrutiny over the recent NEET-UG paper leak controversy that triggered a CBI investigation and legal challenges before the Supreme Court.
According to the NTA, around 75,000 candidates were scheduled to appear for the CUET-UG morning shift. While the agency claimed that nearly 95 per cent of students were eventually able to complete the examination after services were restored, 3,765 candidates were unable to take the test.
The NTA said these students had completed biometric registration but “chose to leave” before the examination resumed. However, several students and parents disputed this claim, alleging that candidates at some centres were incorrectly informed that the examination had been postponed, prompting them to leave.
To address the disruption, the agency announced a one-time rescheduled examination for all affected candidates. Details of the fresh test will be announced separately.
The exact number of centres affected remains unclear, with the NTA stating only that “some” centres experienced technical problems. Several of the affected venues were reported to be part of the TCS iON Digital Zone network operated by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
In a statement, TCS Chief Executive Officer K. Krithivasan acknowledged that a technical issue had delayed the examination by about two hours. He said the problem was quickly identified and resolved and maintained that the integrity of the examination remained unaffected.
Despite the assurances, students and parents reported confusion and frustration at several centres. At a centre in Noida, candidates were allegedly told that the examination had been postponed. At another centre in Delhi, students reportedly waited for hours in front of computer terminals with little information about when the test would begin, while dealing with inadequate facilities.
The latest disruption adds to a series of controversies that have dogged the NTA since its establishment in 2018, including technical failures and question paper leaks. Critics argue that repeated lapses have eroded confidence in the country’s premier testing agency.
Rajeev Kumar, a retired professor of Computer Science at IIT Kharagpur, said such glitches often stem from poorly maintained systems, obsolete hardware and insufficiently trained technical personnel. He argued that the recurring problems point to deeper issues of accountability within the examination system.
The incident is particularly significant as policymakers are considering expanding computer-based testing to curb paper leaks. Education experts, however, warn that unless infrastructure and technical preparedness improve substantially, shifting more examinations online may simply replace one set of problems with another.
With CUET-UG concluding on May 31, the latest disruption has once again placed the spotlight on the NTA’s examination management practices and raised fresh questions about the reliability of India’s high-stakes entrance testing system.