Silchar: Amid much uncertainty and controversy over the assignment of centres for the candidates of the Barak Valley for the Combined University Entrance Test (CUET), Dr. Ranoj Pegu said in a social media message that the National Testing Agency (NTA) had assured him that the problem would be solved very soon. After much resentment here in the Barak Valley, Dr. Pegu as well as Nayan Kumar Pathak, the Joint Secretary of the Assam Higher Education Department, had written separate letters to Subodh Kumar Singh, the Director General of the NTA, the body that was conducting the examination. Later, Dr. Pegu said, “The Assam government has taken up the issue of the CUET Exam Centre in Barak Valley for Bengali and EVS subjects. I have personally spoken to the Director General, S. K. Singh. NTA assured me of a solution soon.”
More than 28 thousand students from the Barak Valley are appearing for the CUET (UG), but to their utter dismay, candidates appearing for the Bengali and EVS have been allotted examination centres in far-off cities like Guwahati, Dibrugarh, and even in other states like Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram. The examination was scheduled to be held on May 24, and students were hung up in uncertainty.
The Assam University Students Union and the AIDSO had raised serious concern regarding the issue. In a letter to the NTA, the AUSU said the students of Barak Valley were facing serious hardship in appearing for the examination as they had to travel long distances amid uncertain road and rail communication. The student body proposed an alternative, urging the NTA to consider admission based on students’ previous academic performance rather than the CUET UG examination.
Meanwhile, TMC MP Susmita Dev spoke to the NTA DG on Tuesday and urged him to take immediate steps to resolve the issue. Susmita later said she would raise the issue in Parliament, alleging that the NTA had no idea of the geography of the Northeast.
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