Partial Info in CUET Admit Cards, Last Min Travel Prep Leaves Students Anxious

For a few days now, social media has been flooded with complaints by students set to give CUET regarding confusion around admit card, entrance test venues and dates.

(Deeskha Malhotra/The Quint)

In the run-up to the first-ever Common University Entrance Test (CUET) – a single entrance exam for undergraduate colleges – The Quint brings you stories of how students, as well as coaching centres, are adapting to the new pattern. In the fourth part, read about the confusion that students are facing over admit cards just days before the CUET. You can read part one here, part two here, and part three here.

On 11 July, 18-year-old student (who did not want to be named) found out that her Common University University Entrance Test (CUET) is only five days away. “I was shocked to see that I only had four more days left to prepare for it. Some of my friends, on the other hand, will only sit for CUET in August,” said the nervous Delhi University (DU) aspirant.

The entrance test, which is being held across 500 centres in India, is scheduled between 15 July and 20 August. The CUET is mandatory for students who want to gain admission in any central university in the country.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) released a public notice on 11 July, regarding intimation of examination city to CUET candidates.

“Ever since my daughter found out that her exam is scheduled for 16 July, she has been anxious and has barely slept,” said the 18-year-old's father. The teenager studied at a private school in Noida, and wants to pursue Economics at DU now.

I had assumed that we would get a notification several days in advance, leaving me with ample time to brush up my preparations. I won’t be able to compete with my friends who have a month to prepare for CUET.

Student aspiring to study at DU

For a few days now, social media has been flooded with complaints by students set to give CUET regarding confusion around admit card, entrance test venues and dates. The Quint spoke to a few about it.

Mayhem Regarding Dates, Admit Cards

Several students have complained that they received “partial” details on their admit card. Among them is 18-year-old Rahul Kumar from Bihar’s Patna. He told The Quint, “I was left quite confused when I saw my admit card. It mentioned that my exam is on 6 August but didn’t mention where it will be held. Even the subjects are not mentioned in the admit card.”

Kumar said the lack of clarity only made him and everyone around him nervous about the impending exam.

Others like Amit Sihag, a resident of Rajasthan’s Jaipur, is worried about his brother who will sit for CUET on 17 August. “His exam date is 17 August but considering how last-minute this announcement was, we are worried that the centres will be announced only four days before the test. What if the centre is far away? We have to make travel arrangements too, and everyone can’t do that at such short notice,” lamented Sihag.

On 11 July, a public notice by the NTA read that an advance intimation slip regarding the date of the entrance test and venue of each student who is set to give the CUET will be issued. The city intimation slip had details regarding the subjects, language, medium offered in slot one and slot two, and the date and city allotted.

It further added that students who have opted for Chemistry, Physics, and Biology have been shifted to phase 2 to avoid a clash with National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET). The notice added that admit cards of students in phase 1 would be available on the website for download from 6 pm onwards on July 12.

The first phase is scheduled from 15 July to 4 August and the second phase will be held from 4 August to 20 August. The University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairperson, Jagadesh Kumar Mamidala clarified that the admit cards for Phase 2 will be released on 31 July.

The confusion arose when students who are expected to sit for the CUET phase 2 still got their admit cards before 31 July. The partial details on the card caused confusion and was only clarified when UGC gave a statement on 13 July.

‘Admit Cards Not Loading, Spent Hours Staring At Website’

Apart from the confusion around admit cards and entrance test venues, logging in to the NTA website too has been an uphill task for some students.

17-year-old Arunima who finished her schooling from a private school in Delhi, said that the last three days have been particularly stressful for her and others who are preparing for the examination.

On the day of the NTA notice, she spent hours trying to log in, after which she finally got her exam date, which is 4 August. She said, “I have not been able to download the admit card. I have friends in phase 1 who have not been able to download the admit card either."

Arunima who hopes to study BA Psychology from DU, said;

Earlier, I was studying for CUET at least 14-15 hours a day but the last three days have been spent staring at the screen, trying to find out what is going on. We have been too stressed to prepare.

Arunima, student

A few other students hoped to change their exam location because they are facing issues reaching the allotted centre. While one Twitter user mentioned how floods in several parts of the country will hinder travel of candidates, another lamented the last minute admit card notice that gives little time to book train tickets to reach the exam centre.