NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing controversy over technical issues in the Central Board of Secondary Education’s evaluation system, students applying for the June 2026 cycle of the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) have alleged serious glitches on the examination application portal, raising fresh concerns about the digital infrastructure used for major national examinations.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the UGC-NET, had extended the application deadline from May 20 to May 23 following what it described as “various requests” from candidates. However, several aspirants claim the extension did little to ease the difficulties they encountered while completing their applications.

Students from Delhi University and other institutions have written to the University Grants Commission (UGC), urging it to reopen the registration portal. They alleged that persistent server errors, slow processing speeds and repeated submission failures made the application process stressful and time-consuming.

According to candidates, the portal experienced repeated crashes on May 18 and 19, leaving many unable to access the registration window for hours. Several students said tasks that would normally take only a few minutes stretched into hours because of loading failures and technical errors.

“Every step was taking time. Even uploading a signature in the correct size took nearly 20 minutes,” said one applicant, adding that several of his friends managed to complete the form only on the final day after multiple failed attempts.

Students also pointed out that similar issues have surfaced in previous years. During the 2023 UGC-NET cycle, candidates reported glitches and sought an extension of the registration deadline. In 2022, technical problems during the examination process prevented some candidates from taking the test, prompting authorities to conduct a separate examination for affected students.