A recent glitch in the server again created a stir among the NEET-UG (National Eligibility-cum-Enternace Test - Undergraduate) aspirants as they could not complete the submission on time. The deadline for the submission of applications was dated April 6, 2023. The link to apply online was deactivated at 9 pm and the stipulated time for payments and financial transactions was up till 11.50 pm. Yet the problem arose when many students alleged that they encountered server issues as they were unable to receive OTP, upload their passport size images or were unable to process their payments. A Twitter user, Jay Agrawal, had posted that his payment has been processing for the past three days and the same has not been submitted yet.
This is not the first time students have encountered such an issue. Such technical and administrative problems were reported in 2022 as well, when several NEET aspirants complained of a technical glitch due to which they were unable to process their applications. To this, the government had responded by extending the deadline. In 2023, many purportedly couldn’t apply on time due to various academic commitments as well.
Vishwanath Kumar, the National Vice-President for AJINSA (All India JEE-NEET Students Association) had posted an open letter on Twitter addressing the Director General, NTA underlining the importance for an extension. The letter stated, “I believe that reopening the registration form will benefit the students who were unable to register earlier. It will give them another chance to apply for the exam and pursue their dreams of studying at a reputed university. It will also be a positive step towards ensuring that all eligible candidates get a fair chance to appear for the exam.”
The inability to submit their applications might be detrimental to their career and the offshoots of it can result in the loss of an academic year and sustained mental health issues. Pradeep Rawat, Founder of All India Parents and Students Association while acknowledging the problems the students are facing, addressed it as an issue that is easily resolvable if it is amplified by the students via tweets and emails.
The problem of several technical glitches and delay in the process has been recurrent owing to the number of applicants increasing exponentially each year. Dr. Vivek Pandey, an RTI activist had received many such complaints via social media from students all over the country, where, due to local disruptions the students were unable to access internet and the servers were inoperative. He also emphasised upon the need to increase manpower and an efficient technological management that is needed to organise an examination of such a scale.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct its National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (UG) on May 7, 2023 which would decide the course for thousands of medical aspirants.
