National Testing Agency (NTA) Director General Abhishek Singh has defended the complex process of allotting exam centres to millions of aspirants appearing for national entrance examinations such as JEE, NEET, and the soon-to-begin CUET UG, saying candidates do not always get their preferred exam city due to the “specific intersection” of subject combinations, shifts, and the availability of secure infrastructure.
In detailed reflections posted on his social media handle after the conduct of JEE Main 2026 and NEET UG 2026, Singh outlined the logistical challenges involved in conducting some of India’s largest entrance examinations.
This year, JEE Main 2026 recorded over 16 lakh registrations across two sessions, while NEET UG saw around 22.7 lakh registrations, and CUET UG another 15.68 lakh. Together, the three examinations accounted for nearly 55 lakh registrations this admission season, though many students appear in more than one examination.
The NTA, which began operations in 2018, now conducts some of the country’s largest entrance examinations and annually handles the aspirations — and anxieties — of millions of candidates. As most entrance tests are conducted online, the agency often comes under scrutiny when issues arise, including distant exam centres, technical glitches, delayed admit cards, crowding at examination venues, or allegations related to paper leaks and exam integrity.
However, a debate has resurfaced after several CUET UG candidates complained of being allotted exam cities outside their preferred choices.
“When people ask why a candidate doesn’t always get their preferred city, the answer is rarely that there aren’t enough centres in that city. The answer is usually that the specific intersection of their city, their subject combination, and their shift is fully subscribed at every centre that meets our examination integrity standards,” Singh wrote.
According to him, the challenge is not merely about arranging enough centres in a city. This year, 15.68 lakh CUET UG candidates generated 12,906 distinct subject combinations because students could choose up to five subjects from a broad pool. Every combination then had to be scheduled across examination shifts and matched with available centres while also accounting for language preferences and security requirements.
“The complexity of the exam is also in the fact that students can take the exam in any of the 13 languages. So each question paper has to be translated and made available in 13 languages,” Singh noted.
The agency conducted nearly 67.56 lakh test instances across 35 shifts nationwide for CUET UG 2026, with around 43 per cent of candidates concentrated in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Delhi alone.
According to the NTA chief, 79 per cent of CUET UG candidates received their first-choice city, while 96.6 per cent got one among their preferred cities. The remaining 3.4 per cent — approximately 53,000 candidates — were allotted centres outside their preferences.
“3.4% sounds small. 53,000 candidates are not,” Singh remarked, adding that the agency has opened a free re-allocation window for affected candidates wherever vacant slots are available.
Singh also pointed to a larger structural issue, saying examination infrastructure in high-density states has not expanded at the same pace as demand for computer-based testing.
“CUET UG itself is barely four years old; the appetite for it has grown faster than the secure CBT infrastructure available to host it,” he wrote, adding that bridging the gap would require cooperation from state governments, testing partners, and the broader assessment ecosystem.
The scale becomes even more challenging in NEET UG, which continues to be conducted in offline pen-and-paper mode. Singh said 22.09 lakh candidates appeared for the medical entrance examination across 5,432 centres in India and 14 abroad, with a turnout of 96.92 per cent.
He listed multiple layers involved in conducting the examination securely: confidential printing and transportation of question papers, biometric authentication at gates, nearly 1.5 lakh CCTV cameras with AI-assisted monitoring, frisking protocols, arrangements for scribes for PwD candidates, and coordination involving state governments, police authorities, embassies, NIC, ECIL, BEL, EDCIL, and lakhs of invigilators and observers.
“Every one of those layers exists for a reason,” Singh wrote. “Each one also adds friction for a 17-year-old walking into the most important three hours of their life so far.”
He described the central challenge before examination bodies as maintaining security and integrity without making the experience unnecessarily difficult for students.
“That is the real dilemma every examination body lives with: how do we hold the line on security, integrity, and confidentiality without making the experience harder than it needs to be for the candidate it is meant to serve?”
The remarks come amid continuing scrutiny over national-level entrance examinations following controversies in recent years surrounding paper leaks, centre allocation, biometric verification, and result processing.
At the same time, Singh acknowledged that no examination system can function without flaws. “No system gets this balance perfect, and we will keep refining ours,” he wrote.
As India’s centralised entrance examination ecosystem expands every year, the challenge before the NTA is no longer just conducting examinations securely, but doing so at a scale where infrastructure, logistics, and student convenience can still move together.
Curated by Dr. Elena Rodriguez
