Hundreds of students had to face tense moments after technical glitches resulted in the cancellation of the Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) at two centres on Saturday.
The test for B.Tech programme held at Carmel College of Engineering, Punnapra, Alappuzha, and UKF College of Engineering and Technology, Paripally, Kollam, was cancelled after computers hung midway. An official communication said the new date of the test would be announced later. There will be no change in the test scheduled for April 7 at these centres.
According to Vinod Kumar P.P., director of International Relations and Academic Admissions wing (responsible for the conduct of the test) of the university, around 800 students had appeared for the test at the two centres.
“The local servers set up by a Chennai-based agency entrusted with the conduct of the test developed technical glitches, leading to the cancellation of the exam,” he said. It is for the second consecutive year that the online CAT is facing technical glitches. Last year too, the test held at Carmel College of Engineering was cancelled.
A parent whose daughter had appeared for the test at Ilahia College of Engineering, Muvattupuzha, said the test that began at 2 p.m. was cancelled following technical issues. “The exam then began only by 5 p.m. How will a candidate, who had to go through such tense moments, perform when the test is held again?” he asked.
Parents and students blamed the varsity authorities for their alleged failure to ensure the smooth conduct of the test held at various centres in India and abroad. Vice Chancellor In-charge R. Sasidharan said the mock test held at the centres had not faced any technical hurdle.