Recently, chaos ensued the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) as thousands of students were allotted exam centers outside of Kashmir, causing great inconvenience and distress.
However, the timely intervention of the government raised hopes for a more favorable outcome for these students as the National Testing Agency (NTA), which is the exam conducting body for holding all such competitive exams, rescheduled the CUET (UG)-2023 for the Jammu and Kashmir students.
The CUET is a computer-based test to be conducted annually by the NTA for various universities and colleges across the country. The test assesses a student’s aptitude and knowledge in various subjects, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and general knowledge.
As per the official figures, a total of 87,309 candidates have been registered from J&K.
The sequence of events revealed a glaring lack of communication between the National Testing Agency (NTA) and Jammu and Kashmir Government particularly the Higher Education Department (HED) regarding the conduct of the CUET UG-2023 exam
It was observed that no prior communication was made between the NTA and the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government regarding the allocation of exam centers outside the region.
This serious oversight only came to light after media reports highlighted the issue, which forced the government to step in.
From the NTA to the Ministry of Education, the J&K government reached out to every relevant party to resolve the issue promptly.
The government’s intervention brought a sigh of relief to the affected students, who had been anxiously awaiting a solution.
As the government acted after the issue came to light at the last moment, it seems mandatory now for the government to have a nodal officer appointed in the school education department and the Higher education to coordinate with the exam conducted authorities like NTA in order to avoid such problems in the first place.
The allocation of exam centers to Kashmiri students is not a new issue. Every year, complaints arise from students aspiring to appear in national-level competitive exams such as NEET, JEE, GATE, and now CUET.
To prevent the distressing situation faced by Valley students during these exams, it is essential for the government to appoint a full-time nodal officer dedicated to handling student-related issues for national-level competitive exams.
As the J&K government has adopted the CUET and the national academic calendar, the appointment of a nodal officer becomes imperative.
This officer (Nodal Officer) would serve as a point of contact between the government and the NTA, ensuring smooth coordination and resolution of exam center allocation issues.
By proactively addressing these concerns, the government can alleviate the unnecessary stress and inconvenience faced by Kashmiri students during crucial examinations.
There is an immediate need for constituting a nodal agency or designating an officer as the Nodal officer for all the national competitive exams particularly as most of the students are still living in distress.
Even after the NTA rescheduled the CUET exam for J&K students noting that CUET (UG)-2023 will be conducted from May 26 of 2023 onwards in J&K, but dozens of students were still left in distress as they were not communicated about the fresh dates of the exams.
Some students complained that they did not receive any communication about the fresh dates of CUET while others complained that they received the information a day prior to the date of scheduled exam and the exam centre was again allotted outside Jammu and Kashmir.
There was no immediate contact point for these aggrieved students with the result that dozens of these students could not appear in the exams.
The chaos was witnessed as the majority of the Universities in Jammu and Kashmir for the first time announced that the admissions at Undergraduate level in all colleges affiliated with the respective Universities will be done through the Common University Entrance Test (CUET).
The move created chaos and confusion among the students as the announcement of going ahead with UG admissions in colleges came at an inappropriate time leaving students in a dilemma.
Firstly there was no understanding, awareness among the students about the CUET and the lack of communication and access point for the students proved costly for them.
The introduction of CUET which was expected to come with opportunities for the students, at this point of time has come up with more challenges for them.
No doubt the CUET has come up with some advantages which include that the students will need not to appear for multiple entrance exams. With a single test (CUET), students can apply to various universities, which reduces the financial burden and stress associated with preparing for multiple exams.
The CUET also ensures that students from rural and remote areas have access to the same opportunities as their urban counterparts.
But in the case of Jammu and Kashmir, the students are left high and dry over the allotment of exam centres and have no immediate access point to get their grievances registered.
The chaos surrounding the CUET exam center allotment outside of Kashmir has highlighted the urgent need for better coordination and communication between the exam conducting bodies and the J&K government. The intervention of the government has provided temporary relief to the affected students. However, to prevent such issues from recurring, the J&K government should appoint a nodal officer dedicated to handling student-related matters for national-level competitive exams.
This proactive step will go a long way in ensuring that Kashmiri students are not subjected to unnecessary distress during these crucial examinations.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.
The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.