Candidates appearing for the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) 2022 at the exam centre in Netaji Subhas University of Technology (NSUT) campus, Dwarka were in for a shock on Friday morning when they were informed that their centre had been changed to Delhi University’s North Campus.
Several students claimed that they had not been informed about the change in their examination venues and were unable to reach North Campus — 23 km away from NSUT — in time for the test that began at 9 a.m.
The CUET, which is being conducted over several days and in two phases for the first time, is mandatory for those seeking admission to Central universities across the country and several other universities that have also opted for it.
Sources at the National Testing Agency (NTA) said the students who were unable to take the examination due to a change in the centre will be allotted another date. However, there was no official word from the NTA regarding the provision.
Inconvenience caused
Aayush, a student who came down from Allahabad with three others for taking the exam at the NSUT centre, said, “There is a huge problem with the system of conducting the CUET. If our phone number and email id were taken during registration, why weren’t we informed regarding the change in centre?”
Aayush added, “It took us five hours to come from Allahabad to Delhi. We checked the centres before leaving Allahabad and it still showed NSUT.”
Guards stationed at the gate of the NSUT said over 100 students had visited the centre over the past 2-3 days after the admit cards were released and were informed that it was not a CUET centre but those who arrived in the morning for the first time had to face problem.
Sanjana, another student who was allotted the NSUT centre, said she had travelled from North Campus to Dwarka for the examination only to be told to go back. “It took me an hour to get here. I now can’t get back there in time as it will take 1.5 hours by metro.”
Prakash, a father accompanying his ward for the exam, said even till Thursday midnight, the online admit card showed the NSUT as the centre. “We have made repeated calls to the NTA helpline but have received no response,” Mr. Prakash said.
Candidates who missed the exam said they were worried if they would now be able to get into a central university for higher studies. All of them hoped that the NTA reschedules their exam so that they can still have a fair attempt at getting admitted to the university of their choice.
No interruption
Candidates taking the CUET in other centres of Delhi said they did not face any interruption. Candidates said they did not face any technical issues during the duration of the CUET, which is a computer-based test.
Sunita, a student who took the test at Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, said, “The computers and the exam itself ran pretty smoothly.”
Most students were also happy with the difficulty level of the exam. Most of them said they did not find the paper difficult and hoped to score well. Ananya took the test today. She said, “I am confident that I did well. The exam was not hard. There were no issues that I had faced during the exam.”
