The National Testing Agency (NTA) has clarified concerns raised on social media regarding the conduct of the Common University Entrance Test Postgraduate (CUET-PG), 2026, particularly over examinations held on multiple dates and allegations related to score normalisation.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the NTA said it had noticed “queries on social media about some CUET-PG subjects being held on more than one date, and about normalisation not being applied."
Explaining the circumstances, the agency said that due to “the law and order disruption at Tura (Meghalaya), and the security situation at certain overseas centres," a total of 565 candidates across 28 subjects were unable to take their examinations on the originally scheduled dates in March.
“Accordingly, the NTA rescheduled the examination for these 565 candidates only on March 29 and 30 March, purely as a welfare measure," the statement read.
The agency stressed that the decision was taken to ensure that candidates were not disadvantaged by factors beyond their control. “It’s the NTA’s policy to ensure that, as far as possible, no candidate is penalised for circumstances for which they are not responsible," it added.
Addressing concerns over score calculations, the NTA categorically stated that no normalisation process is used in the CUET-PG.
“For CUET-PG, the NTA’s policy is to report absolute marks for every candidate, in every subject. No candidate’s score is normalised not in the main examination, not in the reschedule," the agency said.
It further clarified that all candidates, including those who appeared in the rescheduled examinations, were assessed using the same evaluation method. “There was therefore nothing the rescheduled candidates were exempted from; they were scored on exactly the same basis as everyone else."
The NTA also argued that applying normalisation between the main examination and the rescheduled test would not have been statistically meaningful because of the vast difference in candidate numbers. It cited examples showing that around 16,000 candidates appeared for English in the main examination compared with about 120 in the reschedule, while Political Science had approximately 26,000 candidates in the main examination against around 100 in the rescheduled test.
“A cohort of a hundred cannot be statistically normalized against tens of thousands," the statement noted.
To ensure fairness, the agency said the rescheduled examination used question papers that had been prepared and approved in advance.
“The reschedule used approved question papers that were finalised earlier by subject experts, who certified that they were of difficulty equivalent to the papers used in the main examination for the same subjects."
Reiterating its position, the NTA said, “In short, every CUET (PG) 2026 candidate’s score is computed on an identical, absolute marks basis. The reschedule changed nothing about how scores were arrived at."
The agency concluded by reaffirming its commitment to fairness and transparency in the examination process, stating that it “remains committed to conducting its examinations in a fair, transparent and candidate centric manner."
