Shillong, May 13: The state government has informed that the National Testing Agency. NTA did not communicate with the state government in advance about any shortage of examination centers in the state for CUET-UG. The matter only came to light at the last moment when several students were allotted centers outside Meghalaya.
The statement from education dept
PRESS RELEASE
Subject: Examination Centre Allotment Issue in CUET (UG) 2025
Dated Shillong, 13th May 2025
The Education Department, Government of Meghalaya, wishes to address concerns raised by students and parents regarding the allotment of examination centers for CUET (UG) 2025.
1. Similar Issue: During CUET (PG) 2025- a similar situation arose, where several students were initially allotted examination centers outside the state. The State Government promptly intervened and, with the support of the National Testing Agency (NTA), successfully identified additional examination centers within Meghalaya. All affected students were subsequently re-allotted centers within the state.
2. Examination Centre Allotment Process – It is important to note that the allotment of examination centers is managed entirely by the NTA using an automated software system. This system allocates centers based on the preferences submitted by each candidate. Candidates are required to indicate four preferred locations, and the system assigns a center strictly from among these choices. Therefore, if a student has been allotted a center outside Meghalaya, it is because they had selected that location as one of their preferences. This includes cases where students have been allotted centers as far as Port Blair. The State Government has no role in the individual allotment of examination centers.
3. Analysis of Centre Allocation for CUET (UG) 2025: A total of 12,685 students from Meghalaya have registered for CUET (UG) 2025.
7,742 candidates have been allotted centers within Meghalaya due to paucity of available centres and 4,943 candidates have been allotted centers outside Meghalaya.Of these, 4,654 candidates have been allotted centers in Assam.Only 289 candidates have been allotted centers outside both Meghalaya and Assam.Among these, only 93 candidates are assigned centers outside the North East region. One student has been allotted Port Blair, based on it being his/her second choice.
There are currently 2 City Options in Meghalaya and 5 City Options in Assam.
Since the system guarantees allocation from among the four preferred choices provided by each student, the students could have selected one of these 7 choices to avoid going out of the region.
4. Delayed communication of the shortage of centers In the case of CUET (UG) 2025: NTA did not communicate with the state government in advance about any shortage of examination centers in the state. The matter only came to light at the last moment when several students were allotted centers outside Meghalaya.
5. Identification of additional exam centers with computers: As soon as the issue was brought to the attention of the State Government, over 800 additional computer nodes were swiftly identified across various institutions. The list of these potential venues has been shared with the NTA 
6. Process of center validation: The NTA has engaged Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as the agency responsible for vetting and validating computer-based test centers. This is a necessary process that takes a few days, and the inspections of the proposed centers are currently underway.
7. Need for additional centers: The Education Department acknowledges the support of various schools and colleges across Meghalaya that have come forward to offer their computer labs for the conduct of NTA exams. However, a few institutions have not yet extended their support, leading to a shortfall in available computer-based exam centers. This must be understood that extending support to NTA for having more exam centers will greatly help the students of Meghalaya and therefore support of all institutions is pivotal to resolve this issue.
8. Assurance from NTA: The NTA confident that all candidates scheduled to appear after 16th May 2025, who had opted for centers in Meghalaya but were allotted centers outside the state, will be re-allotted to centers within Meghalaya, subject to availability and completion of the validation process. In this regard, Education Department will provide confirmation tomorrow or day after.
The State Government remains committed to ensuring that every student from Meghalaya gets a fair and accessible opportunity to appear for national-level exams like CUET. Regular communication is being maintained with NTA, and further updates will be shared with the public as and when received.
Vijay Kumar Mantri
Commissioner & Secretary
Education Department
