Srinagar, May 17: Hundreds of students have been left in a state of despair after the National Testing Agency (NTA) designated their examination centres for Common University Entrance Test (CUET)-2023 outside Jammu and Kashmir.
The decision has left students, especially those from impoverished backgrounds in a state of distress, saying they can not afford the travel expenses.
National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 16 issued exam city intimation slip for the Common University Entrance Test Undergraduate (CUET UG 2023). The entrance test will take place on May 25, 26, 27 and 28.
But the NTA’s decision to establish exam centers outside J&K has caused significant disruption and added burden on these ambitious students, who were already overburdened with the challenges of preparing for the highly competitive entrance test.
“The majority of these candidates hail from financially disadvantaged families, where covering the costs of traveling outside Jammu and Kashmir becomes an obstacle,” said Nisar Ahmad, a student.
The dejected students said they had given their preference for an exam centre within Kashmir but were left in a state of shock after they came to know their exam centre was allotted outside Jammu and Kashmir.
As the news broke about their exam centers being located outside their home state, the aspirants and their concerned parents staged a protest at the Srinagar Press Enclave.
Demanding a prompt resolution to this issue, the aggrieved parents passionately appealed for the immediate relocation of their children’s exam centers to Kashmir.
“The decision to move the exam centres outside Jammu and Kashmir not only places an undue financial burden on families already struggling to make ends meet but also exposes their children to unnecessary hardship and exhaustion,” the protesting parents said.
They said that these aspiring students have been diligently preparing for the CUET and deserve fair and equitable treatment in the examination process.
The parents urged the concerned authorities, particularly NTA, to reconsider and rectify the exam center allocation, enabling the students to take the CUET within Kashmir.
An official in the Higher Education Department (HED) said the matter will be discussed with NTA to ascertain on what basis they have allotted exam centres to Valley students outside Kashmir.
This year all the J&K Universities decided to take admissions to UnderGraduate (UG) and PG courses through a written test conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) from the current academic session. Around 80000 students have applied for the CUET exam from J&K.
Advisor to J&K Lieutenant Governor (LG) Rajiv Rai Batnagar said the matter will be looked into.
“I will take up the matter with NTA and see what can be done in this regard,” he told Greater Kashmir.