Chaos over CUET centres exposed incompetence of Govt: Rattan Lal Gupta

Student fraternity in J&K subjected to undue harassment’

Why this system is introduced without creating infrastructure to hold CUET in J&K?

JAMMU June 13: Rattan Lal Gupta, NC Provincial President Jammu on Tuesday termed the government as incompetent for allowing chaos  in Common University Entrance Test (CUET) as thousands of students were allotted exam centers outside the state, causing inconvenience and distress.

In a statement issued to media persons, the senior NC leader said that students are facing undue harassment as they are forced to move out of the state to take entrance exams for getting admissions in university. He said that sequence of events unraveled the truth about the 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. Why this system is introduced without creating infrastructure to hold CUET in J&K?

Rattan Lal said, it is uncalled for 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 as this serious oversight only came to light after media reports highlighted the issue, leading to dilemma among the aspirants, whose number is in thousands. He said that such irresponsible attitude towards the issue of vital importance shows that the government is indifferent towards the woes of the common man as students hailing from far off places have to visit cities in different states to appear in the CUET exam, giving a tough time and also affecting the performance badly. It is also unfortunate that most of the students could not appear in CUET and will wastage one year of their studies.  

Rattan Lal also highlighted the grave injustice faced by students residing in far-flung areas of the state. He stated that it severely disadvantages students from remote, inaccessible and backward areas of Jammu region. He questioned how students who have not even traveled to Jammu before can be expected to appear for an examination held outside the state specially the girls students of most far off and backward areas.

Rattan Lal emphasized that this arrangement puts undue burden on students who already face various challenges, including limited access to resources, infrastructure, and transportation facilities. Holding the exam outside the state further exacerbates the difficulties faced by these students and is a clear violation of their rights to equal educational opportunities.

He demanded that those responsible for this lacuna should be taken to task as there is need to fix responsibility. He said that the government’s phlegmatic attitude in handling this significant issue concerning the future and career of the young lot shows how lethargic the helmsman is with regard to the prospects of nation builders of the coming times. 

The Provincial President said that if the government had dealt the case proactively, the problems of the students could have been alleviated and the unnecessary stress and inconvenience faced by them during the crucial examinations were also assuaged but the government being inept allowed things to deteriorate thus forcing the CUET aspirants to face undue trauma and inconvenience.

(NOTE: PRESS RELEASE PUBLISHED AS RECEIVED)