CUET begins; many miss exam due to last-minute change of centre

New Delhi: A last-minute change of exam centres led to many candidates missing the debut edition of the Common University Entrance Test which began on Friday in 510 cities in India and abroad.

Addressing their concerns, National Testing Agency (NTA) officials said the Common University Entrance Test (CUET)-UG aspirants who could not appear for the crucial exam on the first day due to change in centres will get another chance in the second phase in August.

Of the many who could not appear for the exam was 18-year-old Aanchal. Standing outside the examination centre at the North Campus, she said her exam centre was earlier in Dwarka but when she reached there, she was not allowed entry.

"I was informed that my centre has been changed. It panicked and did not know what to do. After a two-hour journey when we finally reached the North Campus, they told us that the time for entering the exam centre has passed," she said.

On whether she was informed about the change of centre beforehand, Aanchal replied, "I checked my mail only after I was informed that this is not my centre. I would have checked it earlier had I known that the centre would be changed." The same was the case with Ritika who reached the Netaji Subhas University of Technology as was mentioned in her admit card. However, on reaching there she was informed that her new exam centre was the North Campus.

"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 has also registered with 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 said.

Parents have also expressed concerns over the way the exam was being conducted.

"First of all, they brought a new system for admission on such short notice. Then they sent the admit cards quite late. On top of that, they changed the examination centre at the last minute," Aanchal's father Santosh said.

Many students, however, were able to reach their examination centre on time as well despite the last-minute change.

"My brother, who is appearing for CUET, was assigned a centre in Dwarka. But it was changed at the last minute to Delhi University. We checked the email last night and were able to reach here," said Sanchit outside the exam centre.

With 14.9 lakh registrations, CUET, the common gateway for undergraduate admissions in all central universities, is now the second biggest entrance exam in the country, surpassing JEE-Main's average registration of nine lakh.

Those who appeared for the exam at several centres in Delhi in the morning slot said the questions were not difficult but the paper was a bit lengthy.

Meanwhile, V Sneha (18), who had exams for three subjects on the first day, appeared happy as she came out of the examination centre.

"It went well. I was not expecting it to be that easy. But it was a little lengthy, especially the calculation part," she said.

NEET-UG is the biggest entrance test in India with an average of 18 lakh registrations.

The exam is being conducted in two phases. Phase 1 is being held in July and Phase 2 will be in August. Candidates who have opted for Physics, Chemistry or Biology have been assigned to Phase 2 of the CUET exam, given that NEET (UG) - 2022 will be held on July 17.