Tag: National Testing Agency

  • hd kumaraswamy: PM Modi acted immediately to safeguard students’ interests: Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy on NEET exam row

    Amid the row over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination, Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Friday said that “acting immediately” Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed the concerned minister to safeguard the interest of the students.

    “According to my knowledge, PM Modi acted immediately after it came to his notice. In the first cabinet itself, he advised the concerned minister how to…safeguard the interest of the students. He has given the direction,” Kumaraswamy told reporters.

    The former Karnataka CM also performed yoga on the 10th International Yoga Day here in the national capital on Friday.”PM Modi encouraged citizens of nearly 124 countries to do Yoga every day and keep good health. I congratulate him,” he said after the event.

    Earlier on Thursday, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Modi and said he is ‘silent’ on the entire issue because he is “crippled” and he has “psychologically collapsed” post-elections and will struggle to run a government like this.

    Rahul Gandhi further said that it seems PM Modi is not bothered about NEET and is instead more concerned regarding the election of the Speaker.”The silence (of government) is because the Prime Minister is crippled. Right now, the PM’s main agenda is the (election of) Speaker. He is not bothered about NEET or all these things. He is bothered about his government and Speaker. That is where his mind is,” Rahul Gandhi said at a press conference on Thursday.Speaking about the people who have been arrested from Bihar in the “paper leak” case, he said, “Regarding Bihar, we have said that there should be an inquiry and action should be taken against those who have leaked the paper.”

    Rahul Gandhi also said that the Congress party will raise the issue in the Parliament.

    Recently, Patna Police arrested several people including some candidates who had taken the NEET exam in recent days.

    Meanwhile, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government is working to further strengthen the National Testing Agency (NTA) by “reconsidering important things.” He also assured action against those responsible for the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the examinations.

    Speaking to ANI, Pradhan said, “In a democracy, everyone has their views. It is our job to listen to everyone. Our responsibility is to run a process-driven government, it is our responsibility to speak the truth and accept truth. Few students have doubts about NTA (National Testing Agency) and we will have to accept this.”

    “The government has decided to form a committee and experts will be part of that committee. All the important things will be reconsidered and the NTA will be strengthened further. Those who are responsible for it (discrepancies) will be held accountable,” he said.

    The Education Minister earlier announced the formation of a high-level committee to probe into the issues pertaining to the functioning of NTA.

    The NEET-UG 2024 exam was conducted on May 5 and the results were declared on June 4, ahead of its scheduled announcement date of June 14. Protests were held alleging irregularities and paper leaks as the results showed that as many as 67 students had topped the exam with a perfect score of 720.

    The NEET-UG examination, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), paves the way for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.

  • DMK blames testing agency over NEET, slams BJP-led govt for being ‘spectator’

    Chennai: Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK on Saturday accused the National Testing Agency of spoiling the sanctity of NEET and blamed the BJP-led government at the Centre for being a ‘spectator’ and backing coaching centres that earned in crores. Yet again, the DMK sought scrapping the national test, saying it alone would protect the sanctity of education sector.

    Referring to the Centre telling the Supreme Court days ago that the grace marks of 1,563 students would be cancelled, DMK’s Tamil mouthpiece ‘Murasoli’ said the BJP government would not have done this if the matter had not been taken to the apex court. Over the years, several irregularities have been happening in NEET and the BJP government did not take note of it, the daily in an editorial on June 15 alleged.

    The irregularities and scams that happened in ‘secret’ so far in the conduct of NEET was held in ‘open’ this year. Only to hide this, the test result that was scheduled to be released on June 14 was advanced to June 4, when the result of Lok Sabha polls was declared. However, the scam got exposed. “We have heard about grace marks, it will be one or two marks. But, how could 70 and 80 marks be termed grace marks? The NTA awarded full marks and this is national injustice.” The BJP government remained ‘servile’ to coaching centres that earned crores every month and it ‘established’ the ‘rule of corporates’ in the education sector too.

    Right from the beginning, Tamil Nadu and key political parties including the DMK have been opposing NEET and the Assembly passed a Bill to exempt the state from the purview of the exam and it was sent to the Centre to secure Presidential assent.

    “We (the state) have requested scrapping NEET or exemption to Tamil Nadu from the test.” The BJP government, however, rejected the staunch opposition as merely political. However, today, the students themselves have realised the ‘fraudulent’ aspects and the affected students approached the top court with a plea to cancel the May 5, 2024 National Eligibility cum Entrance Test and sought strong measures to prevent irregularities. “The Supreme Court itself said the sanctity of NEET-UG has been affected and ‘who spoiled the sanctity? it was the National Testing Agency and the BJP government at the Centre was a spectator.”

    On the whole, only abolishing NEET will be the permanent and fair solution to this problem and only then the sanctity of the education sector would be protected.

    On behalf of the NTA and the Centre, the same advocate appeared before the apex court and it makes it clear that there is no difference in stand whatsoever between the agency and the union government. Also, the Centre aided the agency in its decisions. Even after the grace mark scam was exposed, the union government does not appear to have realised its mistake.

    Referring to the retest on June 23 for students whose grace marks were withdrawn, the Dravidian party daily wondered about the nature of the outcome of the exam to be held again. “See the manner in which they (centre/agency) argue (in court) for the coaching centres that earn in crores.”

  • ‘Debut edition of CUET-UG saw 60 per cent attendance’: National Testing Agency

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The debut edition of Common University Entrance Test (CUET)-UG which concluded last Wednesday recorded 60 per cent attendance, according to National Testing Agency (NTA) officials.

    The exam could not be conducted that day at a centre at Radha Govind University in Jharkhand due to slow internet speed affecting 103 candidates, they said Tuesday.

    “The exam will be conducted on a later date for these candidates,” a senior NTA official said.

    According to the initial plan, all phases of the CUET-UG were scheduled to conclude on August 20.

    However, the exam was further deferred and split into six phases to accommodate students whose exam was rescheduled due to several glitches that marred the test.

    From technical glitches to a last-minute change in the exam centres and uninformed changes in exam dates to admit cards mentioning past dates, the students have many of these issues.

    With 14.9 lakh registrations, the CUET, the common gateway for undergraduate admissions in all central universities, is now the second biggest entrance exam in the country, surpassing JEE-Main’s average registration of nine lakh.

    NEET-UG is the biggest entrance test in India with an average of 18 lakh registrations.

    NEW DELHI: The debut edition of Common University Entrance Test (CUET)-UG which concluded last Wednesday recorded 60 per cent attendance, according to National Testing Agency (NTA) officials.

    The exam could not be conducted that day at a centre at Radha Govind University in Jharkhand due to slow internet speed affecting 103 candidates, they said Tuesday.

    “The exam will be conducted on a later date for these candidates,” a senior NTA official said.

    According to the initial plan, all phases of the CUET-UG were scheduled to conclude on August 20.

    However, the exam was further deferred and split into six phases to accommodate students whose exam was rescheduled due to several glitches that marred the test.

    From technical glitches to a last-minute change in the exam centres and uninformed changes in exam dates to admit cards mentioning past dates, the students have many of these issues.

    With 14.9 lakh registrations, the CUET, the common gateway for undergraduate admissions in all central universities, is now the second biggest entrance exam in the country, surpassing JEE-Main’s average registration of nine lakh.

    NEET-UG is the biggest entrance test in India with an average of 18 lakh registrations.

  • NTA aims to announce CUET-UG exam result within 10 days of last exam: UGC chief

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The National Testing Agency (NTA) is ‘targeting” to declare the CUET-UG exam result within 10 days of the last exam date, said Prof M. Jagadish Kumar.

    The sixth and final phase of the Common University Entrance Test (CUET)-UG 202, which began July 15, will finally end on August 30. The final phase, which was scheduled because exams were cancelled due to technical glitches, began on August 24.

    “We are targeting to announce the CUET-UG results within 10 days of the last exam,” Kumar told this newspaper when asked when the results of the debut CUET-UG will be announced.  

    He also said that the exams held on August 24 and 25 “went off well” on both the days.

    According to officials, the NTA is expected to declare the CUET-UG 2022 results online in the form of a scorecard.

    Candidates can download their CUET 2022 scorecard from the official website – cuet.samarth.ac.in once it is released.

    The CUET-UG exam was earlier slated to end on August 20. However, due to repeated technical glitches, administrative and logistical problems, especially during the second phase of the exam held from August 4 to 6), led to cancellations.

    The exam is being conducted at 489 exam centers located in 259 cities across India and 10 cities outside India. Over 14 lakh candidates are expected to appear for the CUET exam, the common gateway for undergraduate admissions in all central universities.

    Of the total 14.9 lakh candidates, a total of 2.49 lakh candidates appeared for CUET-UG in the first phase (July 15,16,19 and 20), while 1.91 lakh students appeared in the second phase (August 4,5 and 6) and 1.91 lakh during the third phase held on August 7, 8 and 10.

    In the fourth phase, which was held on August 17,18 and 20, 3.72 students appeared for the exam, while in the fifth phase (August 21,22 and 23), 2.36 lakh students appeared for the exam. In the last phase, 2.86 lakh students are set to take the exam scheduled for August 24,25, 26 and 30.

    A total of 44 central universities, 12 state universities, 11 deemed universities, and 19 private universities have applied to participate in the CUET for UG admissions in the 2022-23 academic session.

    NEW DELHI: The National Testing Agency (NTA) is ‘targeting” to declare the CUET-UG exam result within 10 days of the last exam date, said Prof M. Jagadish Kumar.

    The sixth and final phase of the Common University Entrance Test (CUET)-UG 202, which began July 15, will finally end on August 30. The final phase, which was scheduled because exams were cancelled due to technical glitches, began on August 24.

    “We are targeting to announce the CUET-UG results within 10 days of the last exam,” Kumar told this newspaper when asked when the results of the debut CUET-UG will be announced.  

    He also said that the exams held on August 24 and 25 “went off well” on both the days.

    According to officials, the NTA is expected to declare the CUET-UG 2022 results online in the form of a scorecard.

    Candidates can download their CUET 2022 scorecard from the official website – cuet.samarth.ac.in once it is released.

    The CUET-UG exam was earlier slated to end on August 20. However, due to repeated technical glitches, administrative and logistical problems, especially during the second phase of the exam held from August 4 to 6), led to cancellations.

    The exam is being conducted at 489 exam centers located in 259 cities across India and 10 cities outside India. Over 14 lakh candidates are expected to appear for the CUET exam, the common gateway for undergraduate admissions in all central universities.

    Of the total 14.9 lakh candidates, a total of 2.49 lakh candidates appeared for CUET-UG in the first phase (July 15,16,19 and 20), while 1.91 lakh students appeared in the second phase (August 4,5 and 6) and 1.91 lakh during the third phase held on August 7, 8 and 10.

    In the fourth phase, which was held on August 17,18 and 20, 3.72 students appeared for the exam, while in the fifth phase (August 21,22 and 23), 2.36 lakh students appeared for the exam. In the last phase, 2.86 lakh students are set to take the exam scheduled for August 24,25, 26 and 30.

    A total of 44 central universities, 12 state universities, 11 deemed universities, and 19 private universities have applied to participate in the CUET for UG admissions in the 2022-23 academic session.

  • ‘CUET cancelled at some centres following alleged sabotage’: UGC chief on ‘glitches’ during exam

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Noting that there were reports and indications of “sabotage” in the conduct of the Common University Entrance Test-Undergraduate, UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar on Sunday said the exam at certain centres was cancelled keeping the best interest of students in mind.

    Kumar said strict action will be taken against anyone involved in “wilful sabotage” of the process.

    “There were reports and indications of sabotage in the process. NTA (National Testing Agency) immediately swung into action and cancelled and postponed examinations in centres which witnessed such a possibility. Strict action will be taken against anyone involved in wilful sabotage of the process,” Kumar said.

    “Cancellation of the test in some centres was done keeping the best interests of the students in mind. NTA is constantly in touch with the students through email, messaging and voice mail to keep them informed of the changes and extra care is being taken in this regard,” he added.

    On reports that some students were turned away from exam venues, the University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman said the staffers at certain centres should have shown more empathy with students.

    “More school teachers are being deployed as they have more experience of dealing with the students with empathy. Due to the efforts and corrective actions taken by NTA, we are hopeful that in the coming days, the CUET-UG will be conducted smoothly,” he said.

    The CUET is being conducted for admission to undergraduate courses in central universities.

    CUET)-UG for candidates, who were affected by cancellations last week owing to technical glitches, will now be conducted from August 24 to 28, according to officials of the National Testing Agency.

    Fresh admit cards will be issued for these candidates, they said.

    “In second phase, the exam scheduled between August 4 to 6 were deferred at few centres due to administrative and technical reasons.

    Earlier, we had announced the exams would be conducted from August 12-14.

    NTA had also given an option to the affected candidates to choose dates other than these dates in case the schedule was not suitable to them,” said Sadhana Parashar, Senior Director, NTA.

    A total of “15,811 candidates requested a date different from 12 to 14 August 2022.

    Similarly, many candidates have approached NTA requesting not to schedule their examination between 12 to 14 August as a series of festivals are falling during this period.

    Also, many candidates had requested for date or city change as the cities allotted to them in Phase II (04 to 06 August 2022) were not suitable to them,” she added.

    The NTA official said that keeping in mind the requests, it was decided that the exam be conducted between August 24 and 28 and fresh admit cards will be issued before the examination date.

    The third phase of the examination on 17, 18, and 20 August, 2022 will be conducted as per schedule informed earlier to the candidates.

    “NTA has also created an exclusive grievance redressal e-mail. The grievances of candidates regarding subject combination, medium, question paper (if any) can be sent to [email protected]. Candidates must mention their Application Number while sending their grievance,” Parashar said.

    The second phase of CUET-UG which began on Thursday, August 4 was marred with glitches causing trouble to students who were sent back from exam centres.

    On Thursday, the first shift of the exam was cancelled at several centres across 17 states, while the second shift was cancelled at all 489 centres.

    On Friday, the exam was cancelled at 50 centres.

    Anticipating the same situation on Saturday, the agency cancelled the CUET-UG for the day at 53 centres and sent messages to candidates about its postponement on Friday night.

    Noting that some centres failed to comply (with the) laid down protocols, the NTA had on Saturday warned that any incidence of non-compliance, sabotage and ignorance will be viewed very seriously and strict action will be taken against those centres to ensure smooth conduct of examinations in future.

    UGC Chairman Jagadesh Kumar had in March announced that CUET scores will be the basis for admission to 45 central universities which can fix their minimum eligibility criteria.

    With 14.9 lakh registrations, the CUET is now the second-biggest entrance exam in the country, surpassing the JEE-Main’s average registration of nine lakh.

    Apart from central universities, 12 state universities, 11 deemed universities, and 19 private universities have applied to participate in the first edition of CUET-UG for admissions in the academic session 2022-23.

    NEW DELHI: Noting that there were reports and indications of “sabotage” in the conduct of the Common University Entrance Test-Undergraduate, UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar on Sunday said the exam at certain centres was cancelled keeping the best interest of students in mind.

    Kumar said strict action will be taken against anyone involved in “wilful sabotage” of the process.

    “There were reports and indications of sabotage in the process. NTA (National Testing Agency) immediately swung into action and cancelled and postponed examinations in centres which witnessed such a possibility. Strict action will be taken against anyone involved in wilful sabotage of the process,” Kumar said.

    “Cancellation of the test in some centres was done keeping the best interests of the students in mind. NTA is constantly in touch with the students through email, messaging and voice mail to keep them informed of the changes and extra care is being taken in this regard,” he added.

    On reports that some students were turned away from exam venues, the University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman said the staffers at certain centres should have shown more empathy with students.

    “More school teachers are being deployed as they have more experience of dealing with the students with empathy. Due to the efforts and corrective actions taken by NTA, we are hopeful that in the coming days, the CUET-UG will be conducted smoothly,” he said.

    The CUET is being conducted for admission to undergraduate courses in central universities.

    CUET)-UG for candidates, who were affected by cancellations last week owing to technical glitches, will now be conducted from August 24 to 28, according to officials of the National Testing Agency.

    Fresh admit cards will be issued for these candidates, they said.

    “In second phase, the exam scheduled between August 4 to 6 were deferred at few centres due to administrative and technical reasons.

    Earlier, we had announced the exams would be conducted from August 12-14.

    NTA had also given an option to the affected candidates to choose dates other than these dates in case the schedule was not suitable to them,” said Sadhana Parashar, Senior Director, NTA.

    A total of “15,811 candidates requested a date different from 12 to 14 August 2022.

    Similarly, many candidates have approached NTA requesting not to schedule their examination between 12 to 14 August as a series of festivals are falling during this period.

    Also, many candidates had requested for date or city change as the cities allotted to them in Phase II (04 to 06 August 2022) were not suitable to them,” she added.

    The NTA official said that keeping in mind the requests, it was decided that the exam be conducted between August 24 and 28 and fresh admit cards will be issued before the examination date.

    The third phase of the examination on 17, 18, and 20 August, 2022 will be conducted as per schedule informed earlier to the candidates.

    “NTA has also created an exclusive grievance redressal e-mail. The grievances of candidates regarding subject combination, medium, question paper (if any) can be sent to [email protected]. Candidates must mention their Application Number while sending their grievance,” Parashar said.

    The second phase of CUET-UG which began on Thursday, August 4 was marred with glitches causing trouble to students who were sent back from exam centres.

    On Thursday, the first shift of the exam was cancelled at several centres across 17 states, while the second shift was cancelled at all 489 centres.

    On Friday, the exam was cancelled at 50 centres.

    Anticipating the same situation on Saturday, the agency cancelled the CUET-UG for the day at 53 centres and sent messages to candidates about its postponement on Friday night.

    Noting that some centres failed to comply (with the) laid down protocols, the NTA had on Saturday warned that any incidence of non-compliance, sabotage and ignorance will be viewed very seriously and strict action will be taken against those centres to ensure smooth conduct of examinations in future.

    UGC Chairman Jagadesh Kumar had in March announced that CUET scores will be the basis for admission to 45 central universities which can fix their minimum eligibility criteria.

    With 14.9 lakh registrations, the CUET is now the second-biggest entrance exam in the country, surpassing the JEE-Main’s average registration of nine lakh.

    Apart from central universities, 12 state universities, 11 deemed universities, and 19 private universities have applied to participate in the first edition of CUET-UG for admissions in the academic session 2022-23.

  • August 4 CUET-UG exam rescheduled due to technical glitches

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The first day of the phase two CUET-UG exam was a total washout, with thousands of anxious students sent back home without taking the crucial exam due to technical glitches at most of the examination centres across India.

    The National Testing Agency (NTA) later declared that the examination in both the first slot (in the morning) and the second slot (in the afternoon) were cancelled and announced new dates for the Central University Entrance Test undergraduate (CUET-UG) exams, a gateway to undergraduate courses in 90 universities.

    The technical glitches were, however, reported from all 489 examination centres in the afternoon shift, forcing NTA to cancel the exam across India. The reason was that the general test paper was uploaded late. Instead of 3 pm, the exam paper was uploaded after 5 pm. The exam gets over at 6 pm.

    While the postponed exam of the first shift will be conducted on August 12, that of the second shift has now been slotted from August 12-14.

    The news of the cancellation began early in the morning when the testing agency announced that exams in Kerala have been cancelled due to rains. The exam scheduled for August 4,5 and 6 has been postponed and fresh dates will be announced later on NTA website.

    Soon after, several centres in the morning announced that the exam had been cancelled due to server issues. Students flooded social media complaining that they couldn’t complete their exams due to technical glitches and would have to take the exam again.

    Many students also shared that they were not informed beforehand and only got to know when they reached the examination centres in the morning that their exam had been postponed.

    As more and more centres in the day reported technical glitches, NTA in the evening announced cancellation of the exam.

    In a public notice, the testing agency said, “Due to various administrative and technical reasons, the CUET (UG) – 2022 examination scheduled for August 4 August 2022 (first shift) has been postponed to 12 August 2022 for a few examination centres.”

    The exam was cancelled in 29 examination centres in 17 states and union territory.

    In Tamil Nadu the exam was cancelled in five centres – Coimbatore, Dindigul, Tiruvarur, Viluppuram, Virudhunagar – while in Jharkhand and Maharashtra, exams in four cities each were called off. Exams were also postponed in two cities each in Arunachal Pradesh (Namsari and Pasighat) and Uttar Pradesh (Noida and Varanasi). It was cancelled in Delhi too.

    The NTA added that further, because of technical reasons, the question paper for the second shift of the examination could only be uploaded at 5 pm and the download at 489 centres could start at 5:25 pm, while the exam was scheduled to begin from 3 pm.

    “Reports were asked from the observers /city coordinators on ground. Based on their recommendations, the second shift scheduled for 04 August 2022 (shift 2) (from 3pm to 6 pm) is cancelled and the same will now be conducted between 12 to 14 August 2022,” the NTA announced.

    It added that the same admit card will be valid for the concerned candidates whose examinations have been postponed.

    It also said that in case the August 12-14 dates are not suitable, the candidates can send an e-mail to [email protected] mentioning their desired date and roll number.

    Meanwhile, the candidates are also advised to be in touch with the NTA website(s) www.nta.ac.in and https://cuet.samarth.ac.in/ for the latest updates regarding the examination.

    NTA is conducting the debut CUET UG – 2022 exams from July 15 2022 to August 20 at 489 examination centres located in approximately 259 cities across India and nine cities outside India. Around 6,80,000 candidates are appearing in the second phase.

    NEW DELHI: The first day of the phase two CUET-UG exam was a total washout, with thousands of anxious students sent back home without taking the crucial exam due to technical glitches at most of the examination centres across India.

    The National Testing Agency (NTA) later declared that the examination in both the first slot (in the morning) and the second slot (in the afternoon) were cancelled and announced new dates for the Central University Entrance Test undergraduate (CUET-UG) exams, a gateway to undergraduate courses in 90 universities.

    The technical glitches were, however, reported from all 489 examination centres in the afternoon shift, forcing NTA to cancel the exam across India. The reason was that the general test paper was uploaded late. Instead of 3 pm, the exam paper was uploaded after 5 pm. The exam gets over at 6 pm.

    While the postponed exam of the first shift will be conducted on August 12, that of the second shift has now been slotted from August 12-14.

    The news of the cancellation began early in the morning when the testing agency announced that exams in Kerala have been cancelled due to rains. The exam scheduled for August 4,5 and 6 has been postponed and fresh dates will be announced later on NTA website.

    Soon after, several centres in the morning announced that the exam had been cancelled due to server issues. Students flooded social media complaining that they couldn’t complete their exams due to technical glitches and would have to take the exam again.

    Many students also shared that they were not informed beforehand and only got to know when they reached the examination centres in the morning that their exam had been postponed.

    As more and more centres in the day reported technical glitches, NTA in the evening announced cancellation of the exam.

    In a public notice, the testing agency said, “Due to various administrative and technical reasons, the CUET (UG) – 2022 examination scheduled for August 4 August 2022 (first shift) has been postponed to 12 August 2022 for a few examination centres.”

    The exam was cancelled in 29 examination centres in 17 states and union territory.

    In Tamil Nadu the exam was cancelled in five centres – Coimbatore, Dindigul, Tiruvarur, Viluppuram, Virudhunagar – while in Jharkhand and Maharashtra, exams in four cities each were called off. Exams were also postponed in two cities each in Arunachal Pradesh (Namsari and Pasighat) and Uttar Pradesh (Noida and Varanasi). It was cancelled in Delhi too.

    The NTA added that further, because of technical reasons, the question paper for the second shift of the examination could only be uploaded at 5 pm and the download at 489 centres could start at 5:25 pm, while the exam was scheduled to begin from 3 pm.

    “Reports were asked from the observers /city coordinators on ground. Based on their recommendations, the second shift scheduled for 04 August 2022 (shift 2) (from 3pm to 6 pm) is cancelled and the same will now be conducted between 12 to 14 August 2022,” the NTA announced.

    It added that the same admit card will be valid for the concerned candidates whose examinations have been postponed.

    It also said that in case the August 12-14 dates are not suitable, the candidates can send an e-mail to [email protected] mentioning their desired date and roll number.

    Meanwhile, the candidates are also advised to be in touch with the NTA website(s) www.nta.ac.in and https://cuet.samarth.ac.in/ for the latest updates regarding the examination.

    NTA is conducting the debut CUET UG – 2022 exams from July 15 2022 to August 20 at 489 examination centres located in approximately 259 cities across India and nine cities outside India. Around 6,80,000 candidates are appearing in the second phase.

  • Over 10,000 MBBS aspirants write to National Testing Agency demanding postponement of NEET

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Over 10,000 MBBS aspirants have written to the National Testing Agency (NTA) demanding that the medical entrance exam NEET be postponed as its scheduled date is too close to other competitive exams.

    The crucial exam is scheduled to be held on July 17 this year. In the letter, the MBBS aspirants said the date for this year’s National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) has been announced, even though counselling for last year’s exam hasn’t finished.

    “Many NEET aspirants and droppers from 2021 waited till the mop-up round of NEET 2021 counselling in the hope of getting a medical seat but didn’t get one. The mop up round ended in the first week of April… in many states, state counselling is not finished till now,” it said.

    “This year, many students could not calculate their percentage of getting a seat due to the changed reservation policy in NEET 2021 counselling and suddenly after three days, NTA announced on April 6 that NEET 2022 will be conducted on 17 July 2022,” the letter read.

    It said umpteen droppers and freshers will not get enough time to prepare for NEET. Last year’s exam was initially scheduled for August 1 but was postponed to September 12 due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Also, CUET is scheduled for 1st and 2nd weeks of July and JEE mains second attempt is scheduled from 21 July 2022. In between NEET on 17 July will be a great burden for students. Pursuing MBBS is a dream of lakhs of students and the emotions of their parents and teachers are connected therewith. But due to this declaration of premature dates, they are starting to give up on their dreams. Please allocate them an adequate amount of time so that they can prepare well for the exam,” the letter stated.

    The Supreme Court had last week dismissed petitions seeking postponement of the 2022 NEET-Post Graduate examinations, saying any change to the May 21 date “will create chaos and uncertainty and deficiency of doctors in hospitals”.

  • Students claim NEET exam not applicable for AYUSH courses, HC issues notice

    By IANS

    NEW DELHI:  A group of students on Monday approached the Delhi High Court claiming that AYUSH courses cannot come under National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) as the examination is restricted to Modern Scientific medicine and does not include traditional medicine courses.

    Seeking the stand of the Centre and National Testing Agency in this regard, a division bench headed by Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notice on the plea filed by six AYUSH aspirants.

    Further, the court said it will hear the matter on March 30 along with another plea filed by a group of Allopathic doctors who have moved the Court against allowing AYUSH practitioners to perform some surgeries. It also asked Centre’s counsel Monika Arora to furnish details of allopathic doctors’ plea.

    During the course of the hearing, the court also remarked that there is a double standard in the plea. “On a lighter side, you on one hand are saying you are competitive. But when asked to appear in NEET, you are saying we are not,” the court said while listing both the matters for the next hearing.

    In the AYUSH aspirants’ petition, it was contended that their courses operate differently and they are fundamentally different from Medical Institutions that grant degrees, diplomas, or licenses in Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, or Homoeopathy medicines.

    They also said that the common entrance test is not structured to take into account the eligibility criteria for admission to AYUSH courses.

    Claiming that NEET for AYUSH courses is in violation of Article 14 which provides equality before the law or equal protection of the laws, the aspirants said they are not against the entrance test system but against NEET for taking admission to AYUSH courses–Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Sowa Rigpa.

  • May edition of JEE-Mains postponed due to worsening COVID-19 situation

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday announced that the May session of the Joint Entrance Examination (Main) is being deferred in the wake of Covid-19 situation in the country.

    The April session of the entrance test was earlier also postponed while its previous two sessions, in February and March, had been held successfully.

    “Students are advised to keep visiting the official website of NTA (National Testing Agency) for further updates,” Union education minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank tweeted on Tuesday

    The test this month was scheduled for May 24-28. “However, keeping the present situation in mind, the JEE (Main) – 2021 May session is also being postponed,” NTA, under the education ministry which organises the examination, said in a statement.

    The rescheduling of the April and May sessions will be done subsequently and the registration for the May session will also be announced at a later stage, the NTA added.

    From this year, the exam for engineering students is being conducted four times a year to offer flexibility to students and a chance to improve their scores.

    While the first phase was conducted in February followed by the second phase in March.

    The next phases were scheduled to be held in April and May.

    Over 6.2 lakh candidates appeared in the first session while 5.5 lakh candidates appeared in the second session of the exam.

    As per the policy, after the February, March, April and May sessions of JEE(Main)-2021, the ranks of candidates will be released taking into consideration the best of their four scores.

    India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases crossed the 2-crore mark with over 50 lakh infections being added in just 15 days.

    (With PTI inputs)

  • JEE Mains entrance exam postponed as India registers nearly 2.7 lakh COVID-19 cases

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Engineering entrance exam JEE-Mains scheduled to be held from April 27-30 has been postponed in view of the COVID-19 situation, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ announced on Sunday.

    “Given the current #covid19 situation, I have advised @DG_NTA to postpone the JEE (Main) – 2021 April Session.

    I would like to reiterate that safety of our students & their academic career are @EduMinOfIndia’s and my prime concerns right now,” Nishank tweeted.

    According to an official order by the National Testing Agency (NTA), “looking at the present situation of COVID-19 pandemic and also taking into account the safety and well being of candidates and examination functionaries, it has been decided to postpone JEE-(Main) April session”.

    “The revised dates will be announced later on and at least 15 days before the examination,” the order said.

    Starting this year, the exam will be conducted four times a year to offer flexibility to students and a chance to improve their scores.

    While the first phase was conducted in February followed by the second phase in March.

    The next phases were scheduled to be held in April and May.

    Over 6.2 lakh candidates appeared in the first session while 5.5 lakh candidates appeared in the second session of the exam.

    As per the policy, after the February, March, April, and May Session of JEE(Main)-2021 Exam, the ranks of the candidates will be released taking into consideration the best of the four NTA scores.

    Earlier this week, the CBSE had cancelled class 10 board exams and postponed class 12 exams in view of the exponential rise in cases.

    The CISCE board followed the move besides several state boards who have either cancelled or postponed board exams.

    The announcement comes on a day when a record single-day rise of 2,61,500 coronavirus infections took India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,47,88,109, while active cases went past the 18-lakh mark.

    The death toll increased to 1,77,150 with a record 1,501 new fatalities, the Union Health Ministry data updated at 8 am Sunday showed.

    Registering a steady increase for the 39th day in a row, the active cases stand at 18,01,316, comprising 12.18 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 86.62 per cent, the ministry said.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,28,09,643, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.20 per cent, the data stated.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed 20 lakh on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

    It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, 26,65,38,416 samples have been tested up to April 17 with 15,66,394 samples being tested on Saturday.

    The 1,501 new fatalities include 419 from Maharashtra, 167 from Delhi, 158 from Chhattisgarh, 120 from Uttar Pradesh, 97 from Gujarat, 80 from Karnataka, 66 from Madhya Pradesh, 62 from Punjab and 39 from Tamil Nadu.

    These fresh fatalities also include 37 each from Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, 34 each from Bihar and West Bengal, 32 from Haryana, 30 from Jharkhand, 27 from Kerala, 15 each from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and 12 from Himachal Pradesh.

    The ministry said a total of 1,77,150 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 59,970 from Maharashtra, 13,270 from Karnataka, 13,071 from Tamil Nadu, 11,960 from Delhi, 10,540 from West Bengal, 9,703 from Uttar Pradesh, 7,834 from Punjab and 7,388 from Andhra Pradesh.

    The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to co-morbidities.