'First NEET, then CBSE, now CUET': Modi govt faces fire over another exam ‘glitch’, NTA issues clarification on delay

THe authorities faced reinvigorated political hot up on sat after the mutual University Entrance Test-Undergraduate (CUET-UG) 2026 across several centers in India was delayed. The National Testing Agency (NTA) later blamed a “technical glitch” and the test was held with some delay.Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi CM Atishi launched a scathing attack on Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, seeing the CUET delay as yet another incident of mismanagement of national-level examinations. “First NEET, then CBSE, now CUET," she said, pointing towards the NEET-UG paper leak, and the controversies around the Class 12 marking system of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi made a similar argument, adding the Service Selection Commission (SSC) exams as another instance of mismanagement and “dishonesty”.He said on X, “NEET. CBSE. SSC. And today CUET. Four exams. One crore children. Not a single one conducted with honesty.” He challenged the “claims of ‘Vishvaguru’”, and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “completely ruined the entire education system”.“The generation whose future you are destroying — that same generation will hold you accountable,” Gandhi claimed.Glitches and rowsThe CUET glitch is a second blow for the NTA in particular within weeks. The high-stakes medical entrance test NEET-UG 2026, originally held on May 3, was cancelled amid widespread allegations of paper leaks and structural irregularities.The ministry of education has since ordered a CBI probe and scheduled a re-examination for over 22 lakh aspirants on June 21."Today CUET has been delayed due to a ‘technical issue’. Lakhs of students were to take the exam in all parts of India today and after waiting for hours, such notices have been put up outside all centres. Remarkable incompetence @dpradhanbjp!” Atishi wrote, sharing a photo of the NTA notice, and tagging education minister Pradhan. AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj also re-shared videos of chaos outside exam centres, and said the delay could mean “a major breach”. Opposition parties, including the Congress, have repeatedly targeted Pradhan over these issues, demanding his resignation and urging PM Modi to “break his silence” on the recurring institutional lapses. The government told the Supreme Court earlier this week that PM Modi is “personally supervising” the NEET re-conduct; at which Gandhi also took a dig.Pradhan has, however, said he takes “full responsibility” of the CBSE glitches, and has assured of a seamless retest.Meanwhile, the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) was also mired in controversy following severe disruptions during the recent SSC GD Constable Exam 2026. There was miscalculation of seating capacity, widespread server crashes, and the busting of a high-tech cheating racket by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force in Greater Noida. This sparked student protests, ultimately forcing the commission to cancel some affected shifts and reschedule the exams.The controversies have also fueled the rise of a satirical movement online called Cockroach Janta Party.NTA's clarificationResponding to the public anxiety over the CUET, the NTA issued a clarification attributing the delay to its technical partner, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). This was along the lines of notices put up outside the centres.In a statement on X, the testing agency said, “M/s TCS has reported that a technical glitch at their end delayed the commencement of CUET (UG) 2026 at some centres on 30.05.2026. The issue has since been resolved, and the exam is being conducted with full compensatory time so that no candidate is disadvantaged,”The morning session was delayed by over two hours in multiple states. To accommodate the cascading delays, the NTA revised the schedule for the afternoon shift.The reporting time for the second session was moved to 2:30 pm, with the exam beginning at 4 pm instead of the originally scheduled 3 pm.The NTA specified that candidates from the morning shift were granted their full stipulated duration and were only permitted to leave after completing their papers."NTA sincerely regrets the inconvenience caused to students and parents," the agency added, releasing a helpline number (91-11-40759000) and an email address (cuet-ug@nta.ac.in) for candidates requiring immediate assistance.What is CUET-UG?Introduced in 2022, the CUET-UG is a standardised, national-level entrance exam designed to provide a uniform assessment platform for admissions into undergraduate programmes across central, state, and select private universities.Aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, it evaluates candidates on language skills, domain-specific subjects, and general aptitude, replacing a fragmented system of multiple university-specific tests to promote inclusivity. However, Saturday's technical glitch again amplified concerns regarding the NTA's capacity to seamlessly execute multi-city, large-scale tests.The CUET is held across multiple dates. Due to the massive volume of applicants and the wide variety of subject combinations, the NTA conducts the exams in multiple shifts and spans them across several days.For example, for the current year's cycle started from May 11 and is to end by May 31.