Candidates search for seat arrangements as they arrive to appear for the Common University Entrance Test – Undergraduate (CUET-UG) exam, in New Delhi. File.
| Photo Credit: ANI
The first shift of the Common University Entrance Test – Undergraduate (CUET-UG) was delayed for reportedly over two hours on Saturday (May 30, 2026), following a technical glitch at several centres across different States. The examination, originally scheduled for 9 a.m., resumed later in the day.
The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the computer-based CUET examination, blamed the technical glitch on part of the M/s TCS (Tata Consultancy Services), which “delayed the commencement of CUET (UG) 2026 at some centres on 30.05.2026.”
Noting that the issue has since been resolved, NTA said that the “exam is being conducted with full compensatory time so that no candidate is disadvantaged.”
“Morning-session candidates are being given the full duration of the paper and may exit only after completing it,” it added.
Additionally, it also announced revised timings for the day’s second shift, which was originally scheduled to commence at 3 p.m., with entry starting at 1 p.m.
The revised timing for the afternoon sessions are as follows- Reporting/entry: from 2.30 p.m.; examination begins: 4 p.m. (instead of 3 p.m.).
Meanwhile, parents and guardians waiting outside the examination centres, took to social media to share their grievances. Posting on X, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Atishi criticised the Union Education Minister, saying: “First NEET, then CBSE, now CUET…Today CUET has been delayed due to a ‘technical issue’. Lakhs of students were to take the exam in all parts of India today and after waiting for hours, such notices have been put up outside all centres. Remarkable incompetence @dpradhanbjp!”
The CUET-UG examination this year commenced from May 11, 2026 and will go on up to May 31, 2026. As per the NTA, a total of 15,68,866 candidates have registered for the examination, which is being conducted across 35 shifts over the 21-day examination window.
Published – May 30, 2026 12:47 pm IST
