One out of four registered candidates remained absent in this year’s Common University Entrance Test-Undergraduate (CUET-UG), which was marred by technical glitches and the absence of basic facilities such as lifts and ventilation at the exam centres in high-rises.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday declared the CUET-UG results, used for admission to central universities and several state and deemed-to-be-universities.
The CUET-UG was conducted as a computer-based test over 19 days. While 15,68,867 candidates had registered for the exam, 11,64,098 candidates actually sat for it, marking an absenteeism of over 25 per cent — the highest in the last three years.
Each candidate had the option to choose up to five subjects. The question paper was set in 13 languages — English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. The test was held across 321 cities, including 13 cities outside the country.
The exam on May 30 was disrupted and delayed by over two hours because of technical glitches. Several centres told candidates that the exam had been cancelled. The disruptions were witnessed at ION Digital Zone centres, owned by Tata Consultancy Services.
The centres in high-rises did not provide elevator facilities, and students had to climb stairs to the seventh floor to sit for the test. Many candidates complained about feeling dizzy and uncomfortable. The lack of proper ventilation compounded the problem for candidates at these centres.