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Time of India
14-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Tech glitches disrupt CUET-UG day-2 in conflict-hit J&K, Delhi
NTA likely to postpone CUET-UG 2025 examination: Sources NEW DELHI: The second day of CUET-UG, 2025 witnessed continued disruptions, as technical failures at exam centres affected more than 350 students across J&K and Delhi. The repeated setbacks have sparked serious concerns about the readiness of infrastructure supporting this critical national-level test. In J&K, the situation was further exacerbated by logistical failures. National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts CUET-UG, confirmed cancellation of exam on May 14 at Kite Polytechnic centre in Srinagar, citing technical malfunctions. The test was also cancelled at the centre on May 13, the first day of the exam. While 76 students were unable to take the test on May 13, dozens more were affected on Wednesday. NTA said fresh dates will be announced and new admit cards will be issued to the affected candidates. However, the agency's response has done little to address the growing frustration among students and their families in the region. Allocation of CUET-UG exam centres has also sparked widespread concern in Meghalaya, with the state govt accusing NTA of failing to communicate in advance about a shortage of centres within state. This oversight resulted in many students being assigned centres outside Meghalaya — some as far as Jorhat and Dibrugarh in Assam, Mizoram, and Bengal's Kolkata — causing undue financial and logistical stress. Education minister Rakkam A Sangma urged NTA to defer the exams until additional centres, over 200 of which have already been identified and submitted to TCS for vetting, are made ready. J&K Students Association president Nasir Khuehami said he had received numerous distress calls from students unable to attend the exam. 'Many had to flee homes due to the (India-Pakistan) conflict. Some are in different states and have no way to return. Their academic future is at risk,' he said. Several students assigned centres outside the UT described the situation as unmanageable. A resident of Jammu was allotted a centre in Himachal Pradesh. 'Travelling during this period was not just unsafe—it was impossible. My whole year's effort feels wasted,' he lamented. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 3 Reasons to Plug This Into Your Home Today elecTrick - Save upto 80% on Power Bill Learn More Undo Delhi students faced a different set of obstacles. Candidates at centres such as the one in Rohini reported prolonged delays, power outages, and mismanagement. A students, who reached her centre at 6:30 am, said the gates remained closed well past reporting time, and the exam began nearly 90 minutes late. 'There was no electricity, backup failed, and students were left waiting outside in the heat,' she said. Inside the examination centre, students experienced rushed verification, poor ventilation, and inadequate seating arrangements. 'One AC for 40 students — barely working,' Panghal recalled. Similar reports came from centres in Ambala in Haryana, where candidates complained of extreme heat, lack of fans, and tight security that forced many to discard personal items due to the absence of lockers.
Hindustan Times
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
CUET UG begins, students face disruptions
The Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for undergraduate admissions began on Tuesday amid disruption across various examination centres, with students across the country encountering significant challenges. In conflict-hit Jammu and Kashmir, examinees were unable to appear for the test as a result of the tensions between India and Pakistan in recent days. Meanwhile, students in urban centres like Delhi faced a different set of issues, including long delays and technical glitches at exam centres, raising concerns over the preparedness and infrastructure supporting this crucial national-level examination. President of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, Nasir Khuehami, said that he had received 'hundreds of calls since morning from students pleading for a change in CUET dates.' 'Students whose houses have been burned down are calling me because they had to miss their CUET paper today. Several students had left their districts and gone to other states when the conflict started, and they still haven't returned. These students had to miss their papers,' Khuehami said. He added that many centres assigned to students in the region were in schools shut due to shelling. Khuemani also said he has written multiple letters to the education minister of Jammu & Kashmir Sakina Itoo and met her as well to raise the concerns but was met with a single line response 'We will work something out.' However, no action has been taken yet. Saqib, a student from Jammu, told HT his exam centre was in Himachal Pradesh. 'How am I supposed to leave a place that has already seen the wrath of the conflict and go to some other state? I am already traumatised, and my parents will not allow me to go. My entire year has gone to waste. Who will be answerable for this? What was my fault?' he said. Sameer, a student from Rehari district of Jammu had his centre in Amritsar. Sameer told HT,'I had packed my bags last night and then drones were sighted in Samba. We have to go through Samba to reach Amritsar, my heart sank...I knew I will have to miss my exam.' Sameer's mother then told him,'Don't go for the paper, exams will come and go but you are my child---what will I do if something happens?' Sameer said that he had called his centre multiple times to check if the exam had taken place but no one picked up. 'Now my next paper is on the 28th but I am in no mood to prepare for it. No one cares about us, why should I bother,' said Sameer. He also added,'Would the government have done nothing for its students if the same had happened in Delhi?' In Delhi, students reported technical and logistical chaos. Lakshita Panghal, who appeared at a centre in Rohini, said the problems began early in the morning. 'We reached around 6:30 am. At 7:00 am, roll numbers were put up on the gate, but the gates didn't open until much later. There was no one from the management, only security guards,' she said. Panghal recounted how she entered the premises herself because the gates were locked from inside. 'I put my hand through and opened the gate. The guards told me to leave, but I asked why we were not being allowed in even after the reporting time.' She said the delay lasted more than an hour. 'The management told us they had no power, the generator wasn't working, and the UPS couldn't take the load. That's why they didn't let us in,' she said. Parents protested outside the gate. Eventually, students were let in but had to wait on the staircase, some in direct sunlight. 'There was no power, no fans. After a long wait, we were finally taken to labs and made to sit again. The exam started at 10:30 am, an hour and a half late,' she said. She also reported that biometric verification and security checks were rushed. 'There was hardly any checking. They spent maybe five seconds per student,' she said. On conditions inside the exam hall, she added: 'There was one AC for around 40 students. It wasn't working properly. But at that point, the heat was the least of our worries.' Aaryan Singhla, another student, said he travelled to Ambala, Haryana for his exam, only to face similar issues. 'There were no fans or lights. The heat was almost unbearable,' he said. 'Security was much stricter this time. Many students had to throw away accessories because there were no lockers.' CUET UG 2025 is being conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) from May 13 to June 3 in computer-based mode. The exam is being held in three shifts daily: 9:00–10:00 am, 12:00–1:00 pm, and 3:00–4:00 pm, covering 37 subjects including 13 languages, 23 domain-specific subjects, and one general test. The test is available in 13 languages and is a key requirement for undergraduate admissions in central, state, and participating universities.
The Hindu
02-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Pahalgam attack casts a shadow over Jammu and Kashmir students outside State
On Thursday, Himanshi Narwal, wife of Indian Navy Lieutenant Vinay Narwal killed by terrorists in Pahalgam, made an appeal for peace and unity, urging the public not to direct anger or hatred towards Muslims or Kashmiris. Among those who have faced hostility are students from Jammu and Kashmir. The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association has documented 18 such incidents so far, concentrated in states such as Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra. 'On a positive note, not a single case has been reported from South India,' said Nasir Khuehami, National Convenor of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, attributing it in-part to pre-emptive measures taken by State governments. 'I received calls from politicians and police officials from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and other states, seeking our suggestions on how to prevent violence against Kashmiris,' Nasir Khuehami. The Hindu spoke to several Kashmiri students in Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad, who said life has remained normal and they have not faced any hostility. But, in a few North Indian states, some Jammu and Kashmir have faced hostility and suspicion as sympathisers of terrorists. 'How could I eat?' Muhammad Iqbal, a Kashmiri shawl vendor in Mussoorie, was assaulted by locals just a day after the Pahalgam terror attack. 'Initially, three people approached me, checked my Aadhaar card, and began hurling abuses, targeting my mother and sister with vile language. Soon, nearly ten others joined in and slapped me repeatedly,' Iqbal told The Hindu. His hopes for a successful tourist season were abruptly replaced by fear and despair. 'I couldn't leave the house for two days. How could I even eat after going through something so traumatic?' he said. Iqbal was stunned that despite being an Indian citizen and contributing to the country's economy for years, he was unjustly associated with the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack. 'We had to run away' A spokesperson from Hindu Raksha Dal had shared a message on X , threatening Kashmiri Muslims to leave their homes in Dehradun or risk being punished. The video, which went viral, managed to spread fear among the students, who stayed indoors for days or spent exorbitant air fare to go home. 'I have my semester exams in two days. Yet, I did not risk being in Dehradun,' said Adil Nazir, who spent ₹11,000 to buy a last minute ticket to Kashmir. 'I stayed in the airport the whole night as I felt it would be safe and boarded the flight,' Adil, who is studying B pharmacy in Alpine Group of Institutes, Dehradun, told The Hindu. J&K students report that house owners who once shared meals with them are now asking them to vacate. Friendly glances from locals have turned into looks of suspicion. 'My landlord gave me two days to vacate. I'm still in shock—it's the same person who had been kind to me for over a year. One incident, where I have no role, and suddenly I'm treated like an enemy,' said Basheer (name changed), an undergraduate student in Chandigarh. For women students, the hostility took a gendered turn as verbal sexual harassment. 'A group of men on a street slut shamed me, insulted my religion and linked me with the Pahalgam attack,' said Ayesha (name changed), a student from Mumbai. Measures in place Many educational institutions have been taking counter-measures. In Doon Group of Colleges, Dehradun, where 120 Kashmir students are studying, the college management transferred students from outside to college hostels and arranged vehicles for their commute. 'Since examinations are happening now, we want to ensure they have a safe commute to the college. The management ensures that there is no harassment of the students,' said Mohsin Abas Dar, admission coordinator, Doon Group Of Colleges Dehradun. Zubair Abdul, a geology undergraduate from Jamia Millia Islamia, said that while his predominantly Muslim university remains a safe space, students are worried for the Kashmir diaspora in other regions. 'We've been taking precautions by avoiding gatherings, staying inside campus boundaries and not stepping out unnecessarily,' Zubair Abdul said. Kashmir students studying across the country have a whatsapp group, where incidents of violence and bigotry are reported. 'There's a lot of concern. It feels like a repetition of Pulwama,' Zubair said. Abdul (name changed), a 22-year-old BSc student from Chandigarh's Saraswathi College, said the atmosphere has become tense and uncertain since the Pahalgam attack. 'So many rumours are floating around,' he said. 'But, the police have visited our hostel and shared their contact numbers. Because exams are happening, security has been increased. If any Kashmiri student wants to go home, they're offering protection until we cross the Punjab border,' Abdul said. The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association reports that the number of reported cases of harassment were more after the 2019 Pulwama attack. Following the Pahalgam attack, fewer cases have been reported, yet the level of fear among students remains high. To ensure that these incidents do not escalate, Jammu and Kashmir Students Association is urging the Central government to create a mechanism with nodal officers from all Indian states and establish helpline numbers to reach out to Kashmir students in distress. 'Educational institutions with a good number of Kashmir students should set up grievance cells,' said Nasir.
New Indian Express
29-04-2025
- New Indian Express
Kashmiri student assaulted in Nagpur, JKSA urges CM Fadnavis's intervention
NAGPUR: A student from Jammu and Kashmir studying at a pharmacy college in Nagpur was thrashed by a group of local residents, police said on Tuesday. A motive was not yet clear, they said. The incident took place on Sunday evening in the Kamptee area of the Maharashtra city, but no complaint has been received so far from the victim, said a senior police official. Explaining the sequence of events, he said two first-year Bachelor of Pharmacy students, hailing from Doda town and Jammu, were returning to their hostel when one of them went to answer nature's call, while the other stood on the roadside waiting for him. At the same time, a group of local residents came to the spot and started questioning the student standing on the roadside and sought to know from where he had come. As he was unable to answer their questions, the residents started thrashing him, said the official. The other student returned and informed the residents that both were students of a local college. After this, the locals allowed them to go, he said. One of the pupils later informed about the incident to J&K Students Association office-bearer Nasir Khuehami, who posted about it on his X account and urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to intervene in the matter. The attack came days after Kashmiri students in several parts of the country faced Talking to PTI , the student however, ruled out a hate motive behind the attack and said it was their first year in Nagpur and they did not know the area, where the incident took place, well. The student said the incident took place at around 6.15 pm when they stopped at a road in Kamptee. Two to three persons came to the spot and asked them who they were and from where they hailed. The student said he told them they hailed from Jammu and Kashmir, but "anti-social elements" started beating them. Meanwhile, national convenor of the J&K Students Association Khuehami, in a post on social media site X, said a Jammu and Kashmir student was brutally assaulted in Nagpur. "The student from Doda area of J&K was brutally thrashed without any rhyme & reason by fringe elements," he said. Khuehami said according to the victim, two to three goons attacked him. "Some of the assailants knocked him down and started punching him on the face and stomach, and hitting him on his knees. He was slapped 8-9 times on the face, neck, back, and arms," the student leader wrote. Khuehami requested Chief Minister Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, to intervene in the matter and take strict action against the culprits. Khuehami said after he brought to the notice of the Maharashtra CMO about the Kamptee incident, he got a call from IGP (Law & Order) Manoj Kumar Sharma, who took details about the incident from him and also the phone number of the victim. He maintained that the IGP assured him strict legal action will be taken against the culprits.
The Hindu
29-04-2025
- The Hindu
J&K student thrashed in Nagpur; students association seeks Fadnavis' intervention
A student from Jammu and Kashmir studying at a pharmacy college in Nagpur was thrashed by a group of local residents, police said on Tuesday (April 29, 2025) A motive was not yet clear, they said. The incident took place on Sunday (April 27, 2025) evening in the Kamptee area of the Maharashtra city, but no complaint has been received so far from the victim, said a senior police official. Explaining the sequence of events, he said two first-year Bachelor of Pharmacy students, hailing from Doda town and Jammu, were returning to their hostel when one of them went to answer nature's call, while the other stood on the roadside waiting for him. At the same time, a group of local residents came to the spot and started questioning the student standing on the roadside and sought to know from where he had come. As he was unable to answer their questions, the residents started thrashing him, said the official. J&K Resident Commission, New Delhi shares helpline numbers for students studying in different states@ — Information & PR, Srinagar (@ddprsrinagar) April 24, 2025 The other student returned and informed the residents that both were students of a local college. After this, the locals allowed them to go, he said. One of the pupils later informed about the incident to J&K Students Association office-bearer Nasir Khuehami, who posted about it on his 'X' account and urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to intervene in the matter. Talking to PTI, the student ruled out a hate motive behind the attack and said it was their first year in Nagpur and they did not know the area, where the incident took place, well. Receiving distressed calls from Kashmiri students across India living in fear due to ongoing unrest. Some institutions have postponed exams & advised students to return home until normalcy is restored while others have decided otherwise. Urge @AmitShah and Chief Ministers of all… — Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) April 29, 2025 The student said the incident took place at around 6.15 p.m. when they stopped at a road in Kamptee. Two to three persons came to the spot and asked them who they were and from where they hailed. The student said he told them they hailed from Jammu and Kashmir, but "anti-social elements" started beating them. Meanwhile, national convenor of the J&K Students Association Khuehami, in a post on social media site 'X', said a Jammu and Kashmir student was brutally assaulted in Nagpur. "The student from Doda area of J&K was brutally thrashed without any rhyme & reason by fringe elements," he said. Mr. Khuehami said according to the victim, two to three goons attacked him. "Some of the assailants knocked him down and started punching him on the face and stomach, and hitting him on his knees. He was slapped 8-9 times on the face, neck, back, and arms," the student leader wrote. Mr. Khuehami requested Chief Minister Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, to intervene in the matter and take strict action against the culprits. Mr. Khuehami said after he brought to the notice of the Maharashtra CMO about the Kamptee incident, he got a call from IGP (Law & Order) Manoj Kumar Sharma, who took details about the incident from him and also the phone number of the victim. He maintained that the IGP assured him strict legal action will be taken against the culprits.
