NEW DELHI: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has ordered a re-examination for 49 candidates who were unable to complete the Ayurveda paper of the All India Ayush Postgraduate Entrance Test (AIAPGET) in Jaipur on Saturday after a power failure disrupted the computer-based examination for nearly 45 minutes.
The re-examination will be held on September 1 at Rajasthan College of Engineering, Jaipur, at 10 am. The NTA said revised admit cards would be issued to the affected candidates.
The disruption occurred at Sri Satya Sai PG College, where 192 candidates were appearing for the first shift of the examination, held from 10 am to noon. Since AIAPGET is conducted online, the power outage immediately affected the conduct of the test.
“At the Sri Satya Sai PG College Centre in Jaipur, where 192 candidates appeared for the examination, 49 candidates could not complete the examination due to power failure at the centre,” the NTA said in an official statement. According to a source familiar with the incident, power supply was disrupted during the examination, following which candidates were made to wait for restoration. “While 143 candidates waited for the power supply to resume and completed their paper, the 49 students refused to do so,” the source said.
The source said the candidates who continued with the examination were given additional time to compensate for the disruption. “This is always done during exams if time is lost due to various reasons,” the source said.
However, the NTA has decided to conduct a fresh examination for the 49 candidates who did not complete the test, citing the circumstances at the centre.
Jaipur City East Additional District Magistrate Narendra Verma said the disruption lasted between 30 and 45 minutes. “There was power disruption around 10.30 am at the college and it lasted between 30 minutes and 45 minutes. The authorities tried using the generator as a back-up power source. However, even this facility encountered problems shortly,” he said. The situation also led to protests inside the examination hall, Verma said. “A chunk of students started protesting and agitating inside the exam hall. They were disturbing others inside too,” he said. Power was subsequently restored and most candidates resumed their examination. “But 49 of the students refused to complete the paper and decided to leave the exam hall,” Verma said.
The incident has also led to action against Eduquity Career Technologies Private Limited, the agency conducting the examination on behalf of the NTA. The testing agency has issued a show-cause notice to the firm over lapses at the centre. Pending resolution of the notice, Eduquity's empanelment with the NTA has been suspended with immediate effect.
The incident is significant as it is the fourth major examination this year for which the NTA has had to arrange a re-test or re-examination. The NEET-UG examination was repeated on June 21 following allegations of paper leaks. The NTA has also scheduled re-examinations in Sociology, English and Commerce for UGC-NET, while CUET-UG was re-conducted for 3,765 candidates following a technical glitch.
AIAPGET is the national entrance examination for admission to postgraduate MD, MS and PG Diploma programmes in Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Siddha and Unani systems of medicine.
The NTA said 49,867 candidates appeared for AIAPGET at 205 centres across the country. The Jaipur centre conducted the Homeopathy, Siddha and Unani papers in the second shift from 3 pm to 5 pm, with 196 candidates appearing without any disruption, according to the district administration. The Jaipur re-examination on September 1 will therefore involve only the 49 affected Ayurveda candidates.
