TURA/SHILLONG, June 14: At least 40 students of Don Bosco College, Tura were in for a rude shocker on Wednesday morning when they were allotted Ranchi as the centre for the upcoming Common University Entrance Test, prompting Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma to seek the intervention of Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan to issue necessary direction to the National Testing Agency (NTA) to make alternative arrangements for the aggrieved students of Meghalaya.
In a letter addressed to the Union minister on Wednesday, the chief minister said the state government has received numerous complaints from students of Meghalaya on the allocation of CUET centres outside the state.
Sangma said the students have been allotted centres such as Ranchi, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Kolkata and other southern states of India which has left the students and their parents in disbelief and dismay.
He also stated that this has caused significant inconvenience and logistical challenges for the students, who were already preparing for the examination under the assumption that the centres would be allocated closer to their home.
“I am also to inform you that the admit cards were issued only in the morning of June 14 to students who will have to appear the CUET on June 16 thereby giving them very little time to make the necessary arrangements for travel and accommodation in other states,” the CM said.
According to him, such arrangements made by the NTA have deprived the students of Meghalaya of the opportunity to pursue their education in other central universities located in different parts of the country.
Sangma further mentioned that the state has already requested NTA to set up the CUET centres in all 12 districts of Meghalaya in institutions which are having adequate infrastructure and testing facilities for CUET.
Earlier in the day, Principal of Don Bosco College, Fr Bivan Mukhim said Ranchi is more than 600 km away and all the students had mentioned their first preference as Shillong and the next as Guwahati. “However, they were appalled to discover that Ranchi had been allotted to them instead. This blunder by the National Testing Agency has left not only us but the students and their families in absolute shock and disbelief,” he stated.
“The sudden change of venue has caused significant inconvenience and logistical challenges for the students, who were already preparing for the examination under the assumption they would be taking it closer to home,” he added.
Fr Mukhim confirmed that a letter was forwarded to the Education Department on Wednesday morning after the goof-up in the hope that things can still be rectified as it could lead to the loss of a year for the affected students.
The situation has been exacerbated by the fact that the Environmental Studies (EVS) examination of North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), which was originally scheduled on June 14, has been postponed to June 20, 2023.
Given the geographical distance between Ranchi and Tura, it is practically impossible for the students to return in time to write their NEHU examination, putting their academic future at risk.
