Controversy Surrounding CUET-UG 2023 Answer Key: NTA Accused of Providing Incorrect Answers for Financial Gain

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NTA is being accused of charging money from CUET-UG candidates by providing incorrect answers for the CUET UG. Check the details below.

CUET UG

New Delhi: After facing accusations of exorbitant fees charged from students for the National Exit Test (NExT) 2023 mock exam, the National Testing Agency (NTA) is now being accused of charging money from CUET-UG candidates through deliberate provision of incorrect answers.

Earlier, NTA released the answer key for the CUET UG 2023 and released the solved question paper, along with the corresponding answers. However, candidates are accusing NTA of gaining money by intentionally releasing wrong answers for several questions.

Students were informed that they could raise challenges until July 1, 2023, regarding any questions with incorrect answers by paying a fee of INR 200 per question to submit their challenges.

Samrendra Kumar, a former Academic Council Member of Delhi University, has raised allegations that the National Testing Agency (NTA) is engaging in financial exploitation under the guise of the CUET UG test.

NTA's Answer Key Controversy: Allegations of Incorrect Answers

According to Samrendra Kumar, he noticed numerous significant errors in the CUET answer key provided by the NTA upon a quick examination. These errors were easily noticeable by anyone. Even the answers to common questions were incorrectly provided in the answer key.

For instance, in the Political Science test conducted during the third shift on June 6, a question was posed regarding the founder of the Indian National Army, and the NTA answer key identified Bhagat Singh as the answer.

However, based on the options provided, the correct answer could be Subhash Chandra Bose. Kumar said that if someone wishes to challenge this incorrect answer, they are required to first submit a fee of INR 200, after which the NTA will rectify it.

This not only amounts to blatantly extorting money from candidates but also demonstrates an injustice towards the students. Furthermore, he has claimed that there are similar discrepancies in the answers provided for questions related to the flag of the European Union.

According to his allegations, all five questions pertaining to the European Union have incorrect answers in the NTA answer key. For instance, the NTA answer key states that the headquarters of the European Union is Paris, whereas the correct answer is Brussels.

Similarly, another question asks which country has left the European Union, and the NTA answer key states the USA as the answer, which defies common sense as it is evident that the USA is not a member country of the European Union. According to Kumar, if someone wishes to challenge only these six questions, they would be required to submit a deposit of INR 1200.

Numerous Errors Found in CUET Hindi Answer Key

Another instance of errors can be observed in the CUET Hindi answer key. Kumar has highlighted that in the interpretation of idioms or the usage of prefixes, only the incorrect options have been marked as correct in the answer key.

For example, when determining the meaning of 'exceed' in the word 'encroachment', the NTA states that 'extreme' is not a prefix but an antonym. Similarly, in another question, the word 'freedom' formed from the prefix 'sat' has been given, whereas based on the options provided, the correct answer would be 'goodwill'.

There are approximately 15 such incorrect answer keys in Hindi. Therefore, if someone intends to challenge all of them, they would need to pay approximately INR 3000 for just one paper.

According to Kumar, it has been stated that the CUET students will be required to pay approximately INR 5000 to the NTA after the test in order to validate their correct answers. Only then will they be eligible to receive marks for their accurate responses.

NTA itself should rectify all the answers first before inviting challenges through the answer key. Meanwhile, a student requested a revised answer key and tweeted, asking what the full form of CNG is. The student requested to review the answer key for the CUET UG exam, pointing out that there are incorrect answers to basic questions.

They mentioned that this issue is specifically related to the General Test Paper conducted on May 30, Shift 3, which includes more than 10 such questions. The student requested the release of an updated answer key.

A candidate stated that they had seen their answer key for CUET UG English Paper 11/6/23, Shift 1, and mentioned that around 25 questions were incorrect. They further mentioned that they belonged to a middle-class family and expressed their inability to pay 5000 for DG_NTA's mistake.

They requested someone to take action in response to their situation. Another student elaborated on what they referred to as "silly mistakes" in the answer key and questioned the reason behind having to bear the cost.

In a tweet, the student addressed a respected individual, stating that the answer key and recorded response sheet for CUET UG 2023 had been made available the previous day.

They pointed out numerous errors in the answer key, including in the simplest questions, and raised doubts about whether these mistakes were genuine errors or a deliberate strategy to generate revenue through questionable means.

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