CUET-UG 2023: 76% Attendance Recorded On Day 1, Exam Delayed At 12 Centres

The CUET-UG 2023 exam was delayed at 12 centres due to multiple reasons, but was later successfully completed, said UGC chairman M Jagadesh Kumar. 

Students wait in a queue to appear in Common University Entrance Test (CUET), outside a centre in Noida.

Source : PTI

The Common University Entrance Test for undergraduate courses (CUET-UG) began on Sunday with an attendance of 76 per cent of candidates appearing in three shifts. Over 2.65 lakh candidates were scheduled to appear for the test at over 440 centres in 271 cities across the country. The first shift of the exam saw an attendance of 72 per cent while in the second shift, it was 77 per cent, as per a report by news agency PTI. 

The exam was, however, delayed at 12 centres due to multiple reasons, but was later successfully completed, said UGC chairman M Jagadesh Kumar. 

"The exam started late due to a couple of reasons such as power fluctuations in some centres, and students needing to follow staggered entry. Students were informed to admit cards to enter the centre in a staggered manner. But in a few places, since they came late, there was crowding and subsequent delay in the start of the exam. We request the students to come staggered to avoid this kind of situation,” Kumar said. 

"We have now taken administrative measures to prevent such situations in the future. In many cities, we have also taken help from the traffic police to minimise traffic jams around the centres," he added. 

"Today's overall attendance was 76 per cent, a significant jump from last year, around 62 per cent,” the UGC Chairman said. 

Meanwhile, the National Testing Agency (NTA), tasked with conducting the test, said that the exam slated for May 28 has been rescheduled as the date clashed with the Joint Integrated Programme in Management Admission (JIPMAT) test. 

"The NTA via JIPMAT and CUET e-mail are intimating the candidates to sit for the JIPMAT on May 28. Such candidates will be allotted a different date for the CUET-UG exam,” said a senior NTA official, as per the report. 

For today’s exam, the official said it went smoothly without any technical glitches, though the exam was delayed at some centres due to issues in the biometric identification process. 

“However, they were sorted and all candidates successfully completed their exams and were given their allotted time," he added. 

Over 14 lakh applications have been received for the CUET-UG this year, registering a 41 per cent increase from the debut edition last year.