Technical disruptions at several centres delayed India’s Common University Entrance Test-Undergraduate (CUET-UG) on Saturday, prompting opposition criticism of the federal government over the conduct of national examinations.
The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the exam for admissions to undergraduate programmes in central universities, said a technical issue linked to its infrastructure provider Tata Consultancy Services caused delays at some centres.
“The issue has since been resolved, and the exam is being conducted with full compensatory time so that no candidate is disadvantaged,” the NTA said in a post on social media platform X.
It added that candidates who had completed biometric registration and were present at centres but could not complete the examination due to the disruption would be given an opportunity to retake the test. Details of the re-examination will be announced later.
Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the incident, saying repeated disruptions in national examinations reflected broader failures in the education system.
“NEET. CBSE. SSC. And today CUET. Four exams. One crore children. One not conducted with honesty,” Gandhi said in a post on X. “The generation whose future you are destroying will hold you accountable.”
His comments come amid wider opposition criticism over alleged irregularities and administrative failures in recent national-level examinations, including medical entrance tests, school board examinations and recruitment tests for government jobs.
The Aam Aadmi Party also criticised the government, sharing videos and posts alleging that students faced long delays and server issues at examination centres.
“Today, millions of students were forced to stand for hours in the scorching sun during the CUET exam because the server went down,” the party said in a post on X, calling it an example of “mismanagement”.
AAP leader Atishi also questioned the handling of the examination process, referring to delays reported at centres and alleging repeated administrative failures in national exams.
The CUET-UG is a nationwide entrance test used for admissions to undergraduate programmes in central universities across India.
The latest disruption follows recent controversy over India’s examination system, including allegations of irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG), cancellations of some recruitment exams, and complaints regarding evaluation processes in school board examinations.
The federal education ministry has previously acknowledged discrepancies in examination systems and said corrective measures were being taken. It has also said action would be taken against those responsible for irregularities.
The National Testing Agency said compensatory time had been provided to affected candidates and that steps were being taken to ensure smooth conduct of remaining examination processes. End :::
Support Independent Media
Click Here and Join the Membership of Millat Times to Support Independent Media.
Support Millat Times