HYDERABAD: Tempers ran high even as confusion reigned supreme over the conduct of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) at Posset Bhavan of Aurora College in Abids, following a reported technical glitch on Friday.
The JEE main was scheduled in two shifts, one from 9 am to 12 noon, and the second from 3 pm to 6 pm. Students, who reached the centre at 7.30 am for the forenoon exam were reportedly told to bring an extra photograph.
“They asked us to get an extra photo,” Pavani, who waited to take the exam till 6:30 pm, said. “Students who had brought two photos got themselves registered. But the college staff held the exam for everyone for one hour.”
Even as the students waited for the exam, the staff at the centre informed them that there were some server issues at the National Testing Agency (NTA)’s end. When the exam started at 11 am, about 26-40 questions did not appear on the screen.
“As many as 23 of us, who did not appear for the first shift, were allowed inside the examination hall by 3 pm. We waited in the hall, but the exam was not held,” another student said.Students of second shift were allowed in the exam by 1:30 pm. But, none of them appeared for the exam. “We were just roaming the corridor, waiting for the exam to start. They did not inform us of the issue,” Vivas Reddy, another candidate, said. At 6 pm, the students were asked to go home.
“There was no electricity, no fans, and no computers in the lab. They did not even provide us drinking water,” another student said. The students later vented their anger by breaking a window pane.
“There was no internet connection in the computer labs we were sitting in. They even called an electrician,” Pavani said.
Parents waiting outside the centre asked the staff about the delay. “The principal expressed helplessness,” a parent said. The staff reportedly told the parents that the students could appear for the exam next time.
Talking to reporters, the college principal said that the server was down the entire time. The NTA could not fix it during exam hours.
“The NTA have postponed the afternoon shift tentatively to June 30,” he added. “There is no information on the exams of the shift 1 students,” Pavani said. The postponement of the exam would affect the students, since many of them have been preparing for other tests as well.