Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday urged the Centre to ensure that adequate examination centres for the Common University Entrance Test 2026 are set up within the state or at accessible locations nearby to spare students from hardship caused by allotment of centres outside the state.
In a letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Khandu expressed serious concern over reports that a large number of students from the state had been allotted examination centres in faraway locations, causing inconvenience and financial burden to candidates and their families.
Highlighting Arunachal Pradesh’s difficult terrain, poor connectivity and underdeveloped transport infrastructure, the chief minister said long-distance travel for national-level examinations poses major challenges for students and can adversely affect their mental and physical well-being as well as examination performance.
Khandu appealed to the minister for reconsideration of the allocation process and sought compassionate and pragmatic intervention in the larger interest of students from the frontier state.
Reaffirming the state government’s commitment to supporting national examinations, he informed the Centre that NEET was recently conducted smoothly at multiple locations across Arunachal Pradesh.
He assured full logistical support from the state government to the National Testing Agency for conducting CUET examinations at convenient centres within the state.
The chief minister also observed that the issue had already been pursued by the state government at various levels.
He said state Education Minister P D Sona had earlier written to the ministry seeking inclusion of four additional district headquarters, Pasighat, Bomdila, Tezu and Aalo, as CUET examination centres for the convenience of students.
Khandu added that state education commissioner Amjad Tak has also been actively pursuing the matter with the authorities concerned.
“The state government remains committed to ensuring that students from the state receive equal opportunities and necessary support in accessing national-level educational platforms and competitive examinations,” the chief minister added.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
