Of the 11.4 lakh candidates scheduled to appear for Common University Entrance Test (CUET - UG) at 2,157 centres in 379 cities in an eight-day exercise, the attendance for the first day of the examinations was more than 75%, said a statement from the National Testing Agency (NTA), which is organising the exams.
“The test was conducted for Chemistry, Biology, English and General Tests all over India except 258 centres in Delhi,” a senior official from the NTA said.
About 6,43,752 candidates in 1,640 centres appeared for Chemistry, 3,63,067 candidates in 1,368 centres appeared for Biology, 8,62,209 candidates in 2,077 centres appeared for English and 7,21,986 candidates in 1,892 centres appeared for General Studies on Wednesday.
Since students write multiple tests, the above is equivalent to handling 25,91,014 students on a single day. This constitutes 44.71% of the total scheduled slots for students registered in pen-and-paper mode.
‘Landmark achievement’
“This is a landmark achievement by the NTA in conducting CUET-UG in such large numbers on a single day,” said M. Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman, UGC.
The tests in four papers scheduled in 258 centres in Delhi on May 15 are postponed to May 29. The abrupt postponement of CUET-UG tests in Delhi centres had caused panic in the aspirant candidates, as those who were travelling from outside Delhi were already en route a day prior to appear for exams. As the NTA website crashed on May 14, candidates were finding it difficult to download their admit cards or access official notification of deferment of exams in Delhi centres.
“This postponement was necessitated due to some logistical issues beyond the control of the NTA. Fresh admit cards will be issued to the students in Delhi,” the NTA senior official said.
