Yash's admit card for the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) arrived home on the day of the exam. The admit card mentioned that the 19-year-old, who lives in Unchahar in Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli, was expected to sit for the exam in Lucknow—109 km away from his house.
He missed the test.
“Earlier, I was given the option of taking the exam on 30 August at a centre in Rae Bareli or on 14 and 18 August in Lucknow. I preferred the Rae Bareli option because it’s closer home,” said Yash.
On 18 August morning, Yash was flummoxed by what the admit card mentioned. “How could I have managed travel to Lucknow at such short notice? I had four tests that day and I missed them. It was not my fault. Now I am worried that I may not get to realise my dream of studying at Delhi University (DU) or Banaras Hindu University (BHU),” he lamented.
This is not Yash’s story alone. Ever since the CUET began in July, it’s been marred by problems such as cancelled or delayed exams, technical issues at the centres, last-minute centre changes, and even the wrong test papers.
‘Our Students' Futures are At Stake,’ Say, Educators
The CUET has been cancelled multiple times at an exam centre in Noida sector 64 for reasons best known to the institute.
On 4 August, students faced continuous technical issues at a centre in Gurugram. Among them is 18-year-old Shaista Parveen, who told The Quint, “The exam started an hour late and students were taken inside the centre in batches. I started attempting the Hindi paper but I could only answer four-five questions because the computer kept hanging.”
In the following papers too, she faced a similar issue. Shaista said, “Even the invigilators were not sure of what was happening. Some papers such as general knowledge and Sanskrit were cancelled. They told us that they will write to the National Testing Agency (NTA) and we will receive a mail about the retest.”
She is yet to receive a mail from the NTA, which has earlier announced that the students who could not sit for the exams between 4 and 6 August will be accommodated in fresh slots between 24 and 28 August.
“I want to study journalism or English from DU but I am still awaiting my CUET admit card,” she said.
The test entered its fourth phase on 17 August but the problems remained the same as the ones seen in phase one that began on 15 July.
The exam was made mandatory for undergraduate admissions to central universities in March this year. Educators believe that the test should have been planned better and implemented in 2023.
'Unfair Students have to Pay for these Glitches,' say Parents
Sudha Acharya, principal of ITL Public School in Dwarka, and Chairperson of the National Progressive School Conference (NPSC), told The Quint;
Students have been turned away from centres a few times due to cancellation of the CUET that day. At the centres, they face technical glitches.Sudha Acharya, principal of ITL Public School
Acharya said that “cancellation” is a cost borne by parents. “In Delhi, centres are far away and parents have had to spend as high as Rs 2,500-Rs 3,000 just to get their children to the centres. It is harrowing for students and parents alike."
She added that students are likely to be “depressed, and have lost the momentum to study.”
Acharya told The Quint, “The test is anyway stressful, and on top of it, students have to give multiple tests in a day which can be tough. Not to forget, all the additional logistical issues they have to face.”
In the first phase from 15-20 July, a number of students missed their CUET exam because of a last-minute switch in centre from one in Dwarka to the Delhi University stadium in North Campus. The NTA later allowed 19 candidates to retake the test.
The glitches, however, didn’t get solved in the second, third and fourth phases either, leaving many students anxious and unsure.
Some students also complained that they got questions in the paper from the wrong subject. On 5 August, at a centre in Delhi, students got Psychology questions in their Sociology exam.
Anurag Meena, a student tweeted, "Many students who had appeared for their sociology exam CUET on 5 August in slot-2, got psychology question paper instead of sociology. We had mailed you a hundred times. Please reconduct our sociology exam."
Ashok Kumar, father of 17-year-old Ritika Kumar, who missed her exam due to a last minute centre change from Dwarka to Delhi University's North Campus, had earlier said, "It’s not my daughter’s fault that she missed the test. It’s unfair that students have to pay for this."
Alka Kapur, principal of Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi, said that her students have told her about a variety of challenges they have faced while attempting CUET.
This is the first year of the exam and a lot of students are appearing for it. But we have received reports of glitches, delays, and cancellations. The NTA should have given 50 per cent weightage to board exams as students put in so much work.Alka Kapur, principal of Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh
She asked, “How can a few hours of tests, particularly in the midst of all the chaos, determine a students’ future?”
Amid Uncertainty, Many Apply to Private Universities
In a recent interview to The Quint, Professor Abha Dev Habib, who teaches Physics at DU’s Miranda House, had said that the delays in CUET have led to a delay in the admission process to central universities.
“Due to this, some of our own teachers, whose children have a quota, have told me that they have taken admission in private institutes because they do not know where they will stand in the exam,” said Habib.
Yash, who missed the CUET due to late arrival of the admit card, is mulling over this. He said, “I might have to do this just to be on the safe side. The private courses cost over Rs eight lakh and I cannot afford to lose a year.”
Then there is 18-year-old Divya Naresh Kumar Patel, from Ambaji in Gujarat, who is confused about when she has her CUET exam.
The admit card I received at home has a different date, and when I checked online, it showed a different date. I don’t know if I will be able to sit for the exam.”Divya Naresh Kumar Patel, student from Gujarat
This is why, for now, she has taken admission in a private college in Mehsana, where the tuition fee is Rs 57,000 per annum. Divya said, “My family is still hopeful that I will get admission in Delhi University or Rajasthan University.”
Habib had told The Quint that she fears that by the time the admission process at central universities is completed; private universities would have finished their first semester.
Apart from joining private universities, some students have enrolled themselves in distance learning courses at central universities as they don’t require CUET scores.
Mubasshir Ahmed, a 19-year-old from UP’s Bulandshahr, had to take this option after the uncertainty about the CUET got to him. He said, “I had travelled to Aligarh, which is 90 minutes away from my home on 12 August because I thought my exam could take place any day. My exam was scheduled for 17 August and 26 August but I did not get my admit card till 17 August, and finally returned home.”
Ahmed has now enrolled in the B.Sc course at Aligarh Muslim University’s Centre for Distance and Online Education.
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