Subject matter experts and students raised concerns about the answer key released by the National Test Agency (NTA) for the Undergraduate Common University Entrance Test (CUET – UG) on June 29, 2023. In response, a new answer key was issued, but students are still unable to access it.
Candidates had the opportunity to challenge the answer key until July 1 by paying Rs 200 per question. Many students and teachers assert that there are incorrect answers in the key.
Vishu, a student from Charkhi Dadri in Haryana, took the Political Science CUET and found seven incorrect answers in Political Science and two in English. This compelled her to pay Rs 1800 to the testing agency. Vishu expressed frustration, stating that her score would be negatively affected if the NTA considers the flawed answer key, jeopardizing her chances of securing a seat at Delhi University.
Samrendra Kumar, an assistant professor at DU, pointed out the occurrence of careless mistakes in the answer key. He gave an example of a question that asked for the opposite gender of ‘kavi’ (poet) in Hindi, with the answer provided in the key being an elephant. Kumar expressed concern that such errors force students to pay substantial amounts to the NTA.
There are also incorrect answers regarding questions about the European Union and factual errors like stating Venus as the nearest planet to Earth and wrongly attributing Bhagat Singh as the founder of the Indian National Army in the answer key.
Students took to social media to express their grievances. Amit Kumar highlighted the unfairness of being charged for challenging incorrect answers, while UGC chairman Jagdish Kumar dismissed the mistakes as typographical errors.
Ankit Kumar, another student, shared his experience of not being able to view the new answer key despite its upload. Ankit expressed concern about the financial burden on his middle-class family, having already paid Rs 1400 for the CUET form fees and an additional Rs 2400 for NTA’s mistake.
Students nationwide are anxious about the impact of these errors on their scores. They are now eagerly awaiting the release of the second answer key.
Samrendra Kumar emphasized the need for careful planning and a blueprint to minimize mistakes in large-scale exams like CUET.
CUET-UG is the country’s second-largest entrance exam in terms of the number of applicants, with 12.5 lakh students registering for the first edition.
