Thousands of CUET UG 2026 candidates were left stranded for hours on Friday as technical failures crippled exam centres across multiple cities, sparking chaos and forcing parents to file police complaints. “We reached the centre on time for the 9 am exam and were repeatedly told there would be a brief delay. Around 11:30 am, we were informed that the exam had been cancelled, but later NTA stated on X that the morning session had only been delayed,” a student shared.
This confusion was echoed by thousands of Common University Entrance Test (CUET UG) 2026 candidates after a technical failure disrupted the morning shift examination, leaving students and parents uncertain for hours about whether the exam had been postponed, cancelled or merely delayed.
The disruption affected centres across multiple cities. While the National Testing Agency (NTA) and its technology partner TCS maintained that the issue resulted in a delay of around two hours and that examinations resumed with compensatory time, many candidates said they spent much of the day waiting for clear instructions on what would happen next.
The morning shift was scheduled to begin at 9 am. Candidates reported reaching centres on time, completing biometric registration and being seated inside examination halls before being informed of technical issues.
At 12:16 pm — more than two hours after the scheduled start time — NTA posted on X that TCS had reported a technical glitch at some centres. The agency said the issue had been resolved and that the examination was being conducted with full compensatory time so that no candidate would be disadvantaged.
However, several candidates said that by then they had already been told that the examination would not proceed at their centres.
A student from Bihar’s Buxar district said candidates at his centre waited for hours after entering the examination hall before being informed that the examination had been cancelled. According to the student, many candidates had already left by the time NTA’s social media updates indicated that examinations were being conducted after a delay.
The uncertainty extended beyond students.
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“From 7 am till 11:30 am they were sitting inside. They kept saying it would happen in five minutes, ten minutes. Then they finally told us the exam had been cancelled. But when we checked NTA’s statement, it only spoke about a delay and said exams were being conducted,” said Suparna Kaul, whose daughter was scheduled to appear for the morning shift.
“Parents are literally worried. Should we go home? Should we stay? Nobody trusts verbal communication. If the exam is being rescheduled, there should be an official notification.”
As confusion continued at several centres, TCS iON issued its own statement at 4:01 pm, saying that a “brief technical issue” had caused a delay of around two hours in the morning shift and that the problem had been identified and resolved by its technical teams.
Teachers and coaching institutes also raised concerns over the impact on students.
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“This is absolutely unacceptable. First-shift students are still stranded at the centres with zero clarity. Nobody is telling them whether their exam has been cancelled, delayed, or rescheduled,” said Varun Goel, a faculty member at PhysicsWallah.
The clearest picture of the disruption emerged only later in the evening when NTA issued a fresh update. The agency said that about 95 per cent of candidates were eventually able to complete their examinations after services were restored.
At the same time, NTA acknowledged that 3,765 candidates who had reached their centres, completed biometric registration and were present for the examination left before the test could restart.
Those candidates will be given a one-time opportunity to reappear for the examination, NTA said. The agency has also directed TCS iON to conduct a root-cause analysis of the technical failure and submit a report.
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While the announcement provided relief to affected candidates, it also confirmed the extent of the disruption that unfolded during the day. For many students and parents, the bigger concern was not only the technical glitch itself but the hours-long uncertainty that followed, with conflicting information leaving them unsure whether the exam was delayed, cancelled or rescheduled.