Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The National Testing Agency (NTA) is under fire again as CUET-UG 2026 candidates at a Noida examination centre reported hours of uncertainty, server failures, and an abrupt forced exit without being able to sit their exam, raising fresh questions about the agency’s ability to conduct major national examinations smoothly.
Students Waited Hours With No Information
Candidates who arrived at the Noida Sector 64 centre completed all entry formalities including biometric verification and attendance, with the exam scheduled to begin at 9 am. However, no exam took place and no official explanation was provided. Students were repeatedly told the server was down and that an update would come in 10 to 15 minutes, a promise that stretched on for hours.
Officials Disappeared, Students Ignored
By around 10:30 am, anxious students began demanding answers. According to candidate Akanksha, some officials disappeared while others continued to brush off students. The situation continued until around 11:30 am, when students were abruptly told to leave the premises without any proper explanation.
Bouncers Threatened Students, Police Arrived
Akanksha alleged that when students protested, bouncers threatened to beat them if they did not vacate the premises, and students were forcibly removed from the centre. Police later arrived at the scene as protests broke out outside the examination venue. Another candidate, Jatin, said no information was given and students were simply told to go home, after which chaos broke out.
NTA’s Official Statement Contradicts Student Accounts
While the NTA’s official update posted on X acknowledged that the evening session at some centres could start an hour late, it made no mention of the severe disruptions during the morning session, stating instead that candidates were being given the full duration of their paper — a claim that starkly contradicts the experiences reported by students.
CBT Format Under the Scanner
The episode carries particular irony as CUET-UG is conducted in Computer-Based Test mode — the very format that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had recently championed as the solution to malpractice, announcing that NEET would also shift to CBT from next year. Yet a computer-based examination itself has now collapsed at a centre, raising questions about whether the problem lies in the format or in the systems responsible for executing it.
NTA’s Credibility Takes Another Hit
The NTA has been under intense scrutiny following last year’s NEET-UG paper leak row, which shook the confidence of lakhs of medical aspirants and triggered a nationwide debate over examination integrity. With CUET-UG aspirants now reporting the same pattern of chaos, abrupt cancellations, and absence of communication, attention has once again turned to whether the agency entrusted with India’s most critical entrance exams can guarantee a fair and predictable process for students.
