Technical glitches continued to mar the fourth phase of the Central University Entrance Test (CUET)UG on Wednesday, forcing the National Testing Agency (NTA) to cancel the exam at 13 centres, affecting over 8,600 candidates, according to officials.

The affected candidates will get a chance for retest on August 25, they said.

“Due to some unavoidable technical reasons, examination scheduled for today was cancelled in 13 centres in Shift 1 and Shift 2. A total of 8,693 candidates were affected out of 1.45 lakh candidates. All the affected candidates will get a chance for a retest on August 25,” UGC chairman Jagadesh Kumar said.

Eight centres where the exam was cancelled are in Delhi, two each in Varanasi and Bihar, and one in Faridabad. Students from the centres in Delhi including Guru Hargobind Institute of Management and Information Technology in Delhi, Asia Pacific Institute in Jasola (Delhi) AIS Assessment Zone, Aakash International Senior Secondary School in Delhi's Nangloi and Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies in Pitampura, claimed they were asked to go back citing technical glitches and server problems.

Some students also claimed that their exam started at least two hours late than the scheduled time. Devyani, who had travelled to Pitampura for her CUET, said, “We waited for two hours for the exam to begin in the first shift. Some of the students were also sent back citing technical glitches.”

Another student who did not wish to be identified said, “I is a total mess. Fourth phase is being conducted and the exam cancellations are still going on. Such an experiment with our careers and academic lives.”

The CUET is the common gateway for undergraduate admissions in all central universities. A total of 3.6 lakh candidates are set to appear in fourth phase scheduled from August 1720.

The exam for additional 11,000 candidates, who were to appear in the fourth phase from August 1720, has been postponed to August 30 to accommodate their choice of city for centre, officials said.

According to the initial plan, all phases of the CUETUG were scheduled to conclude on August 20. The National Testing Agency (NTA), which is responsible for conducting the exam, had later announced that all phases of the exam will conclude on August 28.

However, now the schedule has been further deferred and the exam has been split into six phases.

“The exam for over 11,000 candidates, out of 3.72 lakh candidates, has been postponed to August 30 to accommodate their choice of city for exam centre. The NTA has increased the capacity at centres and also added more exam centres, besides making efforts to ensure the quality of the centres is enhanced,” Kumar had announced.

The second phase of CUET was marred by glitches prompting the agency to cancel the exam at various centres. Kumar had said the exam was cancelled at various centres following indications and reports of “sabotage”. The exam in second and third phases was also cancelled at centres in Kerala and Itanagar due to rains and landslides.