GUWAHATI: The Common University Entrance Test (CUET-UG 2026) faced major disruption on Saturday, May 30, after a technical glitch delayed examinations at several centres across the country, forcing authorities to revise schedules and announce a re-examination for affected candidates.
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The examination, originally scheduled to begin at 9 AM, was delayed by over two hours in multiple states after technical issues affected the computer-based test system. The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts CUET-UG, later confirmed that the disruption was linked to a technical glitch on the platform managed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS iON).
According to the NTA, the issue caused delays in the commencement of Shift 1 examinations at certain centres on May 30. The agency stated that most candidates were eventually able to complete their examinations after services resumed.
Sharing an update on X, the NTA said, “Earlier today, some centres faced a technical glitch that delayed the start of Shift 1. We know this was stressful, and we're sorry for the anxiety it caused.”
To manage the cascading delays, the NTA revised the schedule for the afternoon session. The reporting time for Shift 2 was moved to 2:30 PM, while the examination commenced at 4 PM instead of the originally scheduled 3 PM.
The agency clarified that candidates appearing in the morning session were allowed their full examination duration and were permitted to leave only after completing their papers.
Meanwhile, TCS iON also issued a public clarification acknowledging the technical issue. The company stated that a “technical issue in one of the central system components” had affected the scheduled start of examinations at some locations.
“TCS iON technical teams worked closely with examination authorities to resolve the issue and restore operations,” the company stated.
According to the NTA, around 95 per cent of candidates successfully completed the examination once the system resumed functioning.
However, the agency said that 3,765 candidates who had completed biometric registration chose to leave examination centres before the test could restart.
For these candidates, the NTA announced that a special re-examination would be conducted as a one-time measure. The revised examination date and related details will be announced separately.
The agency has also directed TCS iON to conduct a root-cause analysis of the technical failure and submit its report immediately.
Candidates have been advised to follow the official NTA and CUET websites for verified updates and announcements.
The disruption has added to growing scrutiny surrounding the National Testing Agency in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the NEET-UG 2026 examination held on May 3 was cancelled amid allegations of paper leaks and structural irregularities, raising wider concerns over the conduct and reliability of major national-level entrance examinations in the country.
