There would be no retest held for those who missed the first day of Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for undergraduate admissions to central universities, announced by Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, chairman of the University Grants Commission.
This came after reports from several cities said students missed the test due to sudden changes in centres. Mr Kumar claimed that if students reached on time at a centre other than the one assigned, “they are allowed” — this wasn’t seen today, though.
Read: CUET-UG 2022: Admit cards issued, students complain of packed schedule
Students had been advised to reach two hours in advance, said the UGC chief, adding that there is a “grace period” of 30 minutes after the start of the exam, but “no one is allowed to enter after that”. Some news agencies reported earlier that the students would get a second chance; but the UGC chairman said, “There is no way we can hold a retest for them.”
However, the 197 candidates at West Bengal’s New Jalpaiguri and Punjab’s Pathankot — where the test was cancelled due to technical issues — are likely to get another chance.
Change in examination centre mail arrives just few hours before exam
On a shocking note, the National Testing Agency (NTA) had mailed many students changing their venue of examination centre, just a few hours before examination is scheduled to begin. Anusree Nair received the a mail from the NTA at 11.42 p.m. on July 14 whose exam was scheduled on July 15 at 9.00 a.m. Students were asked to reach the venue of examination centre two hours before the scheduled time. Also, the new examination centre was situated 24 km away from the previous location.
The change in the examination centre of #CUET was done just few hours before the commencement of the exam. The new center alloted was 24km away from the previous location. This is totally unfair to students who live distant from the centre. #CUET2022 #CUETADMITCARD pic.twitter.com/AoAhJ4PBsE
— Anusree Nair (@nairranusree) July 15, 2022
Among others, who did not check the mail and suffered due to change of centre was 18-year-old Aanchal. “My centre was earlier in Dwarka but when I reached there, I was informed that my centre has been changed. I panicked. After a two-hour journey, when we finally reached DU North Campus, they told us that the time for entering has passed,” she said.
On whether she’d been informed, she said, “I checked my mail only after I was told at Dwarka that it wasn’t my centre. I would’ve checked earlier if I knew they could make such a change.”
According to reports in News 18, Ritika, whose exam venue as per admit card was Netaji Subhas University of Technology. She was informed of the new venue at North Campus after reaching there. “I rushed to North Campus but was not allowed entry because the time was over. This is wrong and our whole future hangs in balance,” she said.
Ritika, however, had registered for another subject combination. “I wasn’t sure what course I will go for. So I filled another combination for political science besides the BA programme that was scheduled for today. I am glad I did that. Now I still have an option to get admission,” she told news agency.
The first-ever CUET is being conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) in two phases. Of the 14.9 lakh students who registered across subjects, more than half are in the first phase (July 15, 16, 19 and 20). Phase 2 is in August. Attendance today was about 85 per cent, the UGC chairman said in a video statement sent to journalists. He first gave details of arrangements — 5,000 security cameras, 1,500 mobile-signal jammers — and then made the no-retest announcement.
Some students were able to make it despite last-minute changes. “My brother was assigned a centre in Dwarka. But it was changed to Delhi University. We saw that on email last night and were able to reach on time,” a man named Sanchit said.
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