UGC NET controversy: Candidates spotted several irregularities, here’s what they faced
NEW DELHI: On Wednesday night the Ministry of Education announced the cancellation of the UGC NET June 2024 exam, held just a day prior on June 18, 2024, Tuesday. The decision by the Ministry comes amidst a furore on the medical entrance exam NEET over alleged irregularities. With the UGC NET exam now under review after the NEET UG row, candidates and stakeholders have raised concerns about the NTA‘s conduct of exams.TOI spoke with a number of candidates who took the UGC NET June 2024 exam on June 18, across several states and centres. Here’s what we have learnt about the glitches and irregularities observed in this year’s test.
Exam-day registration process was smooth, but not without discrepancies
In an unprecedented move, the NTA attached ‘hologram stickers’ at the time of candidate registration in the designated examination centre, learnt TOI. The process involves candidates handing over their admit card to the individual at the registration helpdesk, before being allowed entrance into their exam hall. Following this, the candidate’s identity is verified after cross-checking with their Aadhaar cards and biometric verification. Only if the details match, the NTA official would attach the hologram sticker on the candidate’s admit card.
However, while speaking to one of the candidates, TOI learnt that the hologram sticker was attached once the aspirants entered the exam halls and after the examination had begun. Pritam Singh Yadav, who had his exam centre in Prayagraj (Allahabad), says, “The hologram stickers were not attached outside. When the exam started, NTA personnel came in and attached the hologram stickers.”
Candidates forced to sit beyond the exam time in Bihar’s Danapur
In one of the centres in Bihar’s Danapur, candidates were made to sit for nearly forty-minutes after the completion of the exam. Bhavya Jha, who took the exam from one of the centres in Danapur, says, “After the exam, officials came and told us that we would have to stay for 10-15 minutes because the fingerprint data recorded for biometric verification was lost for the entire centre, and everyone was forced to sit for 30-40 minutes more. We left after 6:30 PM, the exam was over at 6 PM.”
Candidates asked to carry their admit cards back instead of submitting as per NTA guidelines
During entrance exams administered by the NTA, candidates are typically required to provide their left-thumb impression, a photograph, and a signature on the exam day on the admit card in the presence of an invigilator. Subsequently, the invigilators retain the admit cards after the exam. However, despite these guidelines, candidates from various states informed TOI that during the UGC NET June 2024 exam, their admit cards were not retained as instructed. Instead, they were allowed to take the hall tickets back. It should be mentioned here that admit cards are meant to include an additional photograph and thumb impression to facilitate cross-verification of candidates during identity verification processes. Read Also
Candidates faced difficulty due to poor infrastructure
Many centres also reported students fainting in exam halls as a result of the ongoing heat wave. Some candidates revealed that there was no ready arrangement for drinking water. This was coupled with the fact that there was a lack of an adequate number of fans inside the exam hall. This created a difficult situation for candidates taking the exam.
“We were not getting water to drink. However, some candidates who fainted due to the heat were given water. Last year, candidates had the option of asking for water, which was brought, but this year, despite the adverse weather conditions, water was not offered,” shares Bhavya.
Another candidate, Shubhanjal, who appeared from Chandigarh, shared similar instances. Recalling a particular instance he says, “One student found it very difficult to stay inside the exam-hall (due to heat) and was constantly moving in and out of the room.”
Diwakar (name changed on request), a candidate at a Shalimar Bagh exam centre in Delhi, described the challenges of sitting for three hours without a fan or drinking water. “A large water canister was placed for an entire floor with 4-5 classrooms, but it was soon emptied with no refill, leaving us to wait till the exam was over,” he shares.
UGC-NET June 2024 was held in offline OMR mode, unlike CBT mode in previous years
The National Testing Agency this year re-introduced the offline pen-paper (OMR) based exam. The UGC NET is being conducted in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode since December 2018, but the NTA had announced that the June 2024 UGC NET exam is going to be held in offline mode, marking a shift from the established CBT format, much to the dismay of candidates. “Online was better, circling an OMR sheet is time-taking, one has to take extra caution to avoid stray markings on the sheet,” says Bhavya.
Exam-day registration process was smooth, but not without discrepancies
In an unprecedented move, the NTA attached ‘hologram stickers’ at the time of candidate registration in the designated examination centre, learnt TOI. The process involves candidates handing over their admit card to the individual at the registration helpdesk, before being allowed entrance into their exam hall. Following this, the candidate’s identity is verified after cross-checking with their Aadhaar cards and biometric verification. Only if the details match, the NTA official would attach the hologram sticker on the candidate’s admit card.
However, while speaking to one of the candidates, TOI learnt that the hologram sticker was attached once the aspirants entered the exam halls and after the examination had begun. Pritam Singh Yadav, who had his exam centre in Prayagraj (Allahabad), says, “The hologram stickers were not attached outside. When the exam started, NTA personnel came in and attached the hologram stickers.”
Candidates forced to sit beyond the exam time in Bihar’s Danapur
In one of the centres in Bihar’s Danapur, candidates were made to sit for nearly forty-minutes after the completion of the exam. Bhavya Jha, who took the exam from one of the centres in Danapur, says, “After the exam, officials came and told us that we would have to stay for 10-15 minutes because the fingerprint data recorded for biometric verification was lost for the entire centre, and everyone was forced to sit for 30-40 minutes more. We left after 6:30 PM, the exam was over at 6 PM.”
Candidates asked to carry their admit cards back instead of submitting as per NTA guidelines
During entrance exams administered by the NTA, candidates are typically required to provide their left-thumb impression, a photograph, and a signature on the exam day on the admit card in the presence of an invigilator. Subsequently, the invigilators retain the admit cards after the exam. However, despite these guidelines, candidates from various states informed TOI that during the UGC NET June 2024 exam, their admit cards were not retained as instructed. Instead, they were allowed to take the hall tickets back. It should be mentioned here that admit cards are meant to include an additional photograph and thumb impression to facilitate cross-verification of candidates during identity verification processes. Read Also
Candidates faced difficulty due to poor infrastructure
Many centres also reported students fainting in exam halls as a result of the ongoing heat wave. Some candidates revealed that there was no ready arrangement for drinking water. This was coupled with the fact that there was a lack of an adequate number of fans inside the exam hall. This created a difficult situation for candidates taking the exam.
“We were not getting water to drink. However, some candidates who fainted due to the heat were given water. Last year, candidates had the option of asking for water, which was brought, but this year, despite the adverse weather conditions, water was not offered,” shares Bhavya.
Another candidate, Shubhanjal, who appeared from Chandigarh, shared similar instances. Recalling a particular instance he says, “One student found it very difficult to stay inside the exam-hall (due to heat) and was constantly moving in and out of the room.”
Diwakar (name changed on request), a candidate at a Shalimar Bagh exam centre in Delhi, described the challenges of sitting for three hours without a fan or drinking water. “A large water canister was placed for an entire floor with 4-5 classrooms, but it was soon emptied with no refill, leaving us to wait till the exam was over,” he shares.
UGC-NET June 2024 was held in offline OMR mode, unlike CBT mode in previous years
The National Testing Agency this year re-introduced the offline pen-paper (OMR) based exam. The UGC NET is being conducted in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode since December 2018, but the NTA had announced that the June 2024 UGC NET exam is going to be held in offline mode, marking a shift from the established CBT format, much to the dismay of candidates. “Online was better, circling an OMR sheet is time-taking, one has to take extra caution to avoid stray markings on the sheet,” says Bhavya.
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