CUET Day 1: Smooth sailing, except for one hiccup

While many such candidates rushed to reach the correct venue after discovering their mistake, several were unable to appear for their Slot 1 papers scheduled for July 15. Netaji Subhas University of Technology (NSUT) in Dwarka Sector 3 was among the venues in Delhi allotted for Slot 1 papers on July 15 when admit cards were issued to candidates on July 12. However, the centre was changed to Delhi University’s North Campus.

Some candidates who were aware of this change said they had received a call on Thursday asking them to download their admit card once again — some said they received this call in the afternoon while some say they received it after 8 pm. Others said they were informed by their schools on Thursday evening, while some said they found out as late as Friday morning when they checked their email.

Tayyaba Siddiqui, student of a government school in Seelampur: “The English paper tested grammar and vocabulary. There were questions on idioms, antonyms, synonyms. There were questions in which we were given four words and had to identify which word is different from the rest.” She is aiming for BA (Honours) English, Sociology or History in North Campus.

At the North Campus centre, candidates who realised there was a centre change only after reaching NSUT rushed to reach far past the official closing time of 8.30 am. While candidates were allowed to enter till 9.30 am, those who arrived after that were unable to appear for their papers.

Bhoomi Khanna (18), a student of Rajkiya Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya Laxmi Nagar, could not appear in her four papers scheduled for slot 1 because she only reached the DU centre at 9.35 am. “When I reached the NSUT centre, the guard told me the centre had been changed to DU. In the confusion and panic of the moment, my mother and I took an auto to DU’s South Campus. There we realised that we had to go to North Campus and took another auto. When I reached, I was told that it’s too late. This is very wrong. The night before an exam a student studies and sleeps. They don’t check their email or check for changes in their admit card,” she said.

Kanishka Sharma, student of DAV Public School, Pushpanjali Enclave: “There were five minutes or so when the power went off and the server was down for a bit. But it was back soon. I had English, Physical Education and Home Science today. I found the English paper to be a little difficult. The papers were based on the NCERT syllabus. I would like to do a BA English (Hons) course.”

Another candidate, Lalita (17), a student of Government Girls Senior Secondary School No. 3 Kalkaji, hitched a ride to DU after she realised that she had shown up at the wrong place. She only reached DU at around 11 am. “I had three papers in the morning and those are gone but I have another 3 papers in the afternoon, so I have come here for those. I anyway felt so much pressure because I have six papers in one day, and this happening on top of that is a huge burden,” she said.

Parents who did manage to get their children to the DU centre after reaching NSUT said it was a close race against time.

Roshni Kumari, student of school of Excellence, Dwarka sector 22: “I found a few questions in the general test tricky but I found the English, Geography and Sociology papers easy. I feel like I could have done with an extra five minutes for the general paper.” She hopes to study BA (Honours) Geography in a DU North Campus college.
Radhika Thakur, student of school of Excellence, Dwarka sector 22: “I have all six of my papers today itself. I was very nervous about it this morning. After giving the first four papers, I now feel that it’s manageable but I would have preferred if they could have been spread over two days.” She wants to study BA (Honours) Sociology in Delhi University.

Ish Narang and his daughter Kanishka had reached NSUT at 8 am after travelling from their home in East Delhi by Metro. “We found out there that we had to be in DU and took the same auto back to the Metro station. While on the train, I realised that we wouldn’t reach on time at that pace and we got off at the Keerti Nagar Metro station and took an auto the rest of the way. No one imagines that an exam centre can be changed at such a last minute,” he said.

Deepak Goyal rushed his daughter Shivani all the way from NSUT to DU on his scooter. “I had to jump a few red lights. Thankfully we had reached NSUT very early, at 7.30 am, because it took us more than an hour to reach DU,” he said.

When asked about the exam centres that were changed on July 14, a day before the exam, Vineet Joshi, Director General of NTA, said: “You keep testing the system. We do mock (tests) before every exam. If there is the slightest problem, then we have to change the exam centre. There is no other way.”

Muskan Srivastava, student of Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Jahangirpuri: “The exam was good since questions were based on the NCERT syllabus. It’s not a difficult paper if you have prepared using NCERT text-books. I prepared using these and a YouTube series. I gave the Political Science, Socio-logy and Hindi papers, and I’m hoping to do Bachelor of Elementary Education.”

According to sources, about 15 exam centres were changed on Thursday, of which one is in Delhi. “We had arranged buses at all centres to transport students to the new centres. The last bus from NSUT left at 8.30 am. Candidates were allowed to enter the centre even after 9 am,” Joshi said, adding that if candidates still faced a problem, they can write to the NTA and it will take a call on merit.

The NTA also cancelled exams at two centres in Jalpaiguri and Pathankot due to technical reasons. Affected candidates, about 200, will be able to take the exam in the second phase in August.