NEW DELHI: The National Testing Agency (NTA) seems to be testing students’ patience. Just weeks after the NEET-UG row triggered nationwide outrage, another major examination conducted by the agency has landed in troubled waters. This time, it is the Common University Entrance Test (CUET-UG) 2026, where technical glitches and administrative confusion left students stranded inside examination centres, waiting for an exam that, in some cases, never began.The contrast between the NTA’s official communication and the experience narrated by students raises serious question. Several students who arrived at examination centres to appear for the CUET-UG examination reported technical glitches.However, NTA statement released late afternoon did not mention the glitches during the morning session at some centres but clearly announced that the evening session at some centres could start an hour late.On Saturday afternoon, the NTA posted an update on X, announcing revised timings for the evening shift at some centres and maintaining that for the morning shift, “candidates are being given the full duration of the paper.”
Students left waiting
Jatin, who appeared for exam at a centre in Noida Sector 64 told TOI: “We were not told anything. We were simply asked to keep waiting inside the examination hall. No one was willing to listen to us, and in the end, we were told to go home. After that, chaos broke out at the centre,” he said.Akanksha, a CUET-UG aspirant, described a day marked by confusion, uncertainty and frustration.After leaving the examination centre, Akanksha told TOI that students had completed all formalities but were left waiting for hours as the exam failed to begin. She said, “The entry time was from 7.00 am to 8.30 am. All the students entered the examination centre, and the formalities, including biometric verification and attendance, were completed. The exam was scheduled to begin at 9.00 am, but no one informed the students about the delay. They were simply told that they would be updated once the examination started and that the server was down.”
‘Server down’ confusion
“By around 10:30 am, the students became anxious and started asking questions. At that point, some officials disappeared for a while, while others ignored the students and kept saying that an update would be provided within 10-15 minutes regarding whether the exam would be held or not,” she said.
Claims of ‘forced exit’
Akanksha also claimed that students were forced out of centre, “This continued until around 11:30 am, after which the students were suddenly told to leave the premises without any proper explanation. The students began protesting and creating a commotion. Some bouncers threatened candidates, saying they would be beaten if they did not leave. Students were then forcibly removed from the centre.”
Afterward, the police arrived, and protests by students began outside the examination venue.
Akanksha, CUET UG candidate
CBT under scrutiny
The episode is particularly noticeable because CUET-UG is already conducted in Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode, the very format that the government recently opted for to curb “malpractices” in NEET examination.The NTA, which conducts both NEET-UG and CUET-UG, has faced intense scrutiny over the past few years following allegations of paper leaks, security breaches and operational lapses in various examinations.
Pradhan’s promise
Ironically, just days ago, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan had reiterated the government’s commitment to a “zero tolerance” policy towards examination malpractices and announced a major shift in how NEET would be conducted in the future.“The root cause of this was OMR and therefore, from the next year, the exam will be conducted in Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode,” Pradhan had said while outlining reforms following the NEET blunder.
Fresh questions for NTA
Yet barely a month later, a computer-based examination itself appears to have run into serious trouble at one of its centres, raising fresh questions about whether the challenge lies only in the examination format or in the systems responsible for executing it.The NEET-UG paper leak row had already shaken the confidence of lakhs of medical aspirants and triggered a nationwide debate over examination integrity, accountability and institutional preparedness.Now, with CUET-UG aspirants reporting hours of uncertainty, abrupt cancellations and a lack of communication, the focus has once again shifted to the agency entrusted with conducting some of India’s most important entrance examinations.For thousands of students, the concern is no longer limited to whether an examination is held online or offline. The larger question remains whether the system can guarantee what every aspirant expects on exam day, a fair, smooth and predictable process.An instruction printed on every NTA admit card states that “Candidates must not create obstacles in the smooth conduct of the exams.” Yet, questions are now being raised about the agency’s own ability to ensure that very “smooth conduct”, with another examination failure surfacing less than a month after the NEET-UG row.
