UGC-NET Retest Cancelled: 'NTA's Glitches and Repeated Exams Ruining Our Future'

"With the centralisation of exams, we have only one option to enroll for PhD, and even that is full of snags."

UGC-NET retest has been cancelled at a Varanasi Centre.

(Illustration generated by AI using Mid-journey, directed by Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

The retest of the June UGC-NET (University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test) – scheduled for 21 August – was cancelled again for students at a centre in Varanasi. The National Testing Agency (NTA) couldn't conduct the exam due to 'a technical glitch' – and now a new date will be announced for the same.

As a candidate who was set to appear for the exam at Dr Ghanshyam Singh College of Education in Varanasi, the centre where the exam was cancelled, I find it extremely distressing to say the least.

How many more times will we have to appear for the same exam, I wonder.

How Centre Was Mismanaged on Exam Day

My exam was scheduled from 3 pm to 6 pm in the second shift. Since the reporting time was 1 pm, I arrived at the centre around 12:30 pm. Upon arrival, we were informed that the first shift exam had been delayed by 45 minutes due to 'a technical glitch', but no information was provided to us, the second shift candidates.

The entry gate for us was supposed to open at 1 pm, as mentioned in the admit card, but we were only allowed to enter the examination centre at 2:30 pm. During this time, we waited outside in the heat, without any shelter. We had no recourse as the centre is located over 30 km from the city on the Varanasi-Azamgarh highway.

Between 200 and 250 candidates, including myself, were asked to sit in Labs 1 and 2, where we couldn't find any staff members for registration, verification, or system allotment. We raised the issue with the examination officials, but no one was willing to listen.

We had no clue what was happening, and we didn't have mobile phones to inform our guardians about the situation. Some students left the lab and began protesting against the exam's mismanagement. 

Worried, some guardians called the police. Upon their arrival, the police tried to calm the students, opened the gates for us, and asked us to return home.

Later that day, we got a notification from the NTA that the second shift examination had been cancelled due to 'a technical glitch' at the examination centre. "The date, time and venue of the exam will be notified by the NTA through a separate public notice in this regard," the notification added.

A copy of the notification from the NTA stating that the second shift UGC-NET examination at a Varanasi centre was cancelled due to 'a technical glitch'.

(Notice accessed by The Quint)

'Time To Reconsider Centralisation of Exams'

It feels playing with the careers – and the lives – of students has become a favourite sport for the NTA.

They need to understand that it's not easy to maintain preparation for a long time for just one exam, especially when, as aspirants, we are also appearing in various other examinations to either secure a job or enroll in higher studies.

I hold a postgraduate degree. Previously, apart from UGC-NET, there were other exams available for enrollment into PhD programmes. Now, with the centralisation of examinations, we have just one option, and even that seems full of snags. 

The government seriously needs to reconsider whether they want to conduct one centralised exam for PhD enrollment and risk jeopardising the careers of students all at once, or if they should return to a decentralised system of examinations.

Over 11 lakh students registered for UGC-NET, with general candidates paying Rs 1,150, OBC candidates paying Rs 600 each, and SC/ST/PwD candidates paying Rs 350.

Despite generating such a huge revenue from the examination, why is the NTA repeatedly failing to conduct exams smoothly? After so many retests, I am left with little confidence in their ability to conduct exams.

(The Quint has reached out to the NTA regarding the issues raised by the student. The story will be updated with their response as and when they revert.)

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