File photo for representation only.Kochi: The revised guidelines for appearing for UGC-National Eligibility Test have taken a toll on many candidates who wrote the qualification examinations on Sunday.
The guideline that the candidates should be present at the examination venue two hours before the starting of the exam made it a tough day for many from various parts of the state. Though some candidates had approached the court against this guideline, the verdict was not in favour of them.
On Sunday, candidates who reached their exam centres at 7am adhering to the UGC rule were welcomed by closed gates as invigilators and other officials came there only by 8am. Candidates from other states had to stay at hotels on Thursday night to keep the timing. Rain in the morning added to the woes of the candidates. Many candidates entered the exam hall, drenched in rain.
Candidates and security guards at Kendriya Vidyalaya, INS Dronacharya, Kochi, engaged in a verbal duel after the latter stood firm that gates could be opened only after authorities came.
"We reached here at 7 following the guidelines, but we could enter the exam center only by 8 am," Linchu Rajan from Mavelikkara said.
The new guidelines were issued after CBSE took over the charge to conduct the examinations on behalf of the UGC. The candidates were supposed to reach the exam hall only by 9.30 am till last time.
In Kerala, the examination is conducted in three centers -- Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. The candidates who attended the CSIR-NET examinations, which is meant for science students, last week also had to face similar problems.
Candidates and the parents who accompanied them said that the UGC should recall the impractical guidelines.
