National Testing Agency defers CUET-UG exam to May 29 in Manipur

The Common University Entrance Test-Undergraduate (CUET-UG) in Manipur has been postponed by the National Testing Agency (NTA). 

The exam was postponed to May 29 in Manipur due to the peace and order situation, and to May 26 in Jammu and Kashmir due to the need to set up temporary facilities to guarantee that candidates do not have to go beyond the Union territory to take the test, according to the NTA. 

On May 21, the second edition of the undergraduate admission test will be administered across the country. 

While the test was originally slated to expire on May 31, the NTA opted to extend it by at least four days to accommodate the increased number of applicants in some cities. 

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"Being sensitive to the needs of candidates and to facilitate the students of Jammu and Kashmir, the NTA is exploring the possibility of creating temporary centres in Kashmir. In view of the above, it has been decided that the CUET (UG) - 2023 will now be conducted from 26 May 2023 onwards in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir," the NTA, which conducts the exam, stated. It said that there has been "a phenomenal increase" in the number of applicants -- 87,309 unique candidates -- from Jammu and Kashmir this year. "...it has been decided that the CUET (UG) - 2023 examination scheduled for 21 to 25 May 2023 is cancelled in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir," the NTA stated. In Manipur, which was rocked by violence earlier this month, the exam has been deferred by a week and students still have the option to seek a change of centre. In the northeastern state, the exam will begin on May 29. "NTA has carefully reviewed the law and order situation in consultation with the state administration and contacted the candidates through telephone to know their preferred city.... Some candidates who were not in Manipur or wanted to take the examination in another state are being allocated (centres) in other cities, including Delhi and Guwahati. The option for change of centre for candidates of Manipur is still available," it said. 

"The NTA has been advised to keep all examinations in the state of Manipur from May 29 onwards. Those candidates who may have got admit cards for 21 to 24 May 2023 or city intimation slips for CUET (UG)-2023 to be held between May 25 and 28 are required to contact NTA," the NTA added. 

A total of 3,697 candidates initially opted to appear for CUET in Manipur. 

The NTA is considering establishing temporary test centres in Jammu and Kashmir to accommodate applicants assigned to places outside the Union territory. Several students from Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand have been taken off guard after being assigned test sites hundreds of miles distant from their homes, despite their choices for a closer location. 

The NTA said that though all measures have been taken to allot candidates centres in their preferred cities, there are some who have been allotted centres in a neighbouring state due to the number of candidates being extremely large. It said 1,78,630 candidates have chosen to appear for the exam in Jharkhand. 

"For May 21-24, a total of 52,793 candidates will be appearing in 19 centres in Jharkhand, which is again a phenomenal increase. For May 25-28, a total of 77,797 candidates will be appearing in 14 centres in Jharkhand," the NTA said. 

The CUET-UG has been set for 14.99 lakh participants, with 64.35 lakh exam papers chosen. These applicants applied for 48,779 different subject combinations. The number of submissions received this year increased by 41% over the previous year's first edition. 

In terms of application numbers, CUET-UG remains the country's second-largest admission test. In the first edition of CUET-UG, 12.50 lakh students registered and 9.9 lakh applications were submitted. With an average of 18 lakh registrations, the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) for medical admissions is India's largest entrance test. 

In March of last year, the University Grants Commission (UGC) stated that undergraduate admissions in all central institutions will be handled through a common entrance test rather than based on class 12 results. 

The first edition of the CUET-UG was held in July of last year and was hampered by technical difficulties, causing the NTA to cancel the test at various locations.