The first day of the second phase of the Common University Entrance Exam (CUET) for undergraduate admissions was off to a rocky start with the National Testing Agency (NTA) forced to cancel the exam to be held in the second shift on Thursday across all centres, following technical problems.
The exam is being conducted in two phases тАФ first phase was from July 15 to July 20, and the second from August 4 to August 20. The exam is conducted in two shifts тАФ morning and afternoon.
In a public notice, the NTA said that it was rescheduling the exam in the afternoon shift across all 489 centres and the exam will now be conducted between August 12 and August 14.
The afternoon shift exam was being cancelled due to the delay in uploading the question paper, according to the NTA.
While the exam was scheduled to start at 3 p.m., the paper could only be uploaded at 5 p.m., and the download could only start at 5:25 p.m.
The NTA said that it sought reports from observers and city co-ordinators on ground and took a decision to cancel the evening shift exam on the basis of their recommendations.
The morning shift exam at 28 centres in 17 States have also been rescheduled for August 12. The admit cards issued to the candidates will be valid for the re-examination too.
Earlier in the day, the NTA also rescheduled the CUET-UG exam to be held on August 4, 5 and 6 in Kerala due to heavy rains in several districts in the State. The new dates will be announced in the days to come.
