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Late yesterday, when many youngsters were preparing to show up for the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), those with their examination centres in Delhi, were left fuming when the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced that the exam, to be conducted across the country, had been postponed in Delhi.

What students have to say about the postponement?

“On Tuesday night, I tried to download my admit card and found that the NTA website for CUET had crashed and information of all the names and locations of exam centres had disappeared,” Shourya Nahar, 18, a resident of Kirti Nagar appearing for English and General Test on Wednesday said.

Nahar further said, “I was so taken aback because none of us expected this kind of lapse in the system. It felt worse because my friends who got their centres in Noida were able to sit for the exam. Now I’ll just have to wait until May 29. This is just unfair… What kind of a website has been made that hangs along with the future of so many students.”

Simran, a 19-year-old girl from Kailash Colony, whose examination centre was Evergreen School in Vasundhara Enclave, said, “NTA stands for National ‘Trauma’ Agency for me because I got to know that our exam has been postponed at 10 pm on the eve of the paper! Worst of all, I had no way to verify whether this was fake news or real. It wasted my four hours of our prep and sleep time just to confirm if I had to appear for the exam the day after. To top it all, the official website crashed and my distant relatives and friends in other cities were calling me and my parents to check if this update was true.”

Bhavishya Goyal, a resident of New Ashok Nagar, said, “I chose Delhi as my centre because I reside in Delhi and was allotted Mount Carmel School in Anand Niketan. A majority of my friends chose Noida for the exam centre. And now that my exam has been postponed, I would have to endure the examination stress for a far longer time as compared to them because they will get to enjoy after exams while I will still be studying.”

What did students travelling from outside have to say about the postponement?

Rahul Gandhi, 18, from Panipat (Haryana), whose examination centre was govt co-ed Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in Rohini, Sector 21, said, “I was on my way to Delhi on Tuesday night; my elder brother was driving me to the city in a car when I found out that the exam had been cancelled. We had to return midway and upon reaching home my parents started scolding me saying ‘Mazak bana rakha hai’. I had to convince them by showing the notice that this was all true, and I didn’t miss my exam. But now I’m more worried about appearing for the exam at a later date because I fear that the question paper might be tougher than the one that others appeared for in the rest of the country on the original exam date”.

A student from Faridabad (Haryana), Shubham Rawat, 17, said, “I had to make special arrangements to come to Delhi since I was allotted an examination centre here despite opting for Faridabad and Ghaziabad as my first two preferences. Now I’m staying with my relatives (maternal uncle) at their residence, near Akshardham, and my exam centre is in Delhi Cantt… There was no official announcement and no message to confirm what exactly happened so I had almost reached the centre. Now I have to undertake this journey all over again.”

First Published: May 16 2024 | 11:48 AM IST