The National Testing Agency (NTA) has issued an official clarification regarding concerns circulating on social media about the CUET PG 2026 examination, particularly questions related to subjects conducted on multiple dates and the absence of score normalisation.

The agency stated that all candidates appearing for the Common University Entrance Test (Postgraduate) 2026 were evaluated using the same absolute marks system and that no candidate received the benefit of score normalisation.

The clarification comes amid speculation online regarding a limited number of candidates who appeared for rescheduled examinations after being unable to take their tests on the originally scheduled dates due to circumstances beyond their control.

Why Were Some CUET PG Exams Rescheduled?

According to the NTA, a total of 565 candidates across 28 subjects could not appear for their examinations in March 2026 because of exceptional circumstances.

The affected candidates were unable to attend due to:

• Law-and-order disruptions in Tura, Meghalaya
• Security-related issues at certain overseas examination centres

The agency emphasized that these disruptions were entirely beyond the control of the candidates.

As part of its candidate welfare policy, the NTA arranged a special rescheduled examination on March 29 and March 30, 2026, exclusively for these affected students.

NTA Explains Its Absolute Marks Policy

The examination authority reiterated that CUET PG follows an absolute marks evaluation system.

Under this policy:

• Every candidate receives marks based on their actual performance.
• No score normalisation is applied.
• The same scoring methodology is used for all candidates.
• Rescheduled candidates are evaluated using identical principles.

The NTA stressed that there was no separate scoring mechanism for students who appeared in the rescheduled examination.

According to the agency, all CUET PG 2026 candidates were assessed under the same framework regardless of the date on which they took the examination.

Why Was Normalisation Not Applied?

One of the major concerns raised online was why score normalisation was not implemented for candidates who appeared on different dates.

The NTA explained that normalisation would not be statistically meaningful because of the extremely small size of the rescheduled candidate group compared to the main examination cohort.

The agency provided examples showing the disparity:

• English: Approximately 16,000 candidates in the main exam versus around 120 in the reschedule.
• Political Science: Around 26,000 candidates in the main exam versus roughly 100 in the reschedule.
• History: Nearly 13,600 candidates in the main exam compared to fewer than 80 in the rescheduled examination.

According to the NTA, attempting to statistically normalise a group of around 100 candidates against tens of thousands of candidates would not produce reliable or meaningful results.

Subject Experts Ensured Equivalent Difficulty

To maintain fairness, the NTA stated that the rescheduled examinations used question papers that had already been approved and finalized by subject experts.

The agency said these experts certified that the papers used during the rescheduled tests were equivalent in difficulty level to those administered during the main examination.

This process was intended to ensure consistency and fairness across all examination sessions.

Officials emphasized that the rescheduled tests were not designed to provide any advantage or disadvantage to affected candidates.

Candidate Welfare Remained a Priority

The NTA highlighted that the decision to hold the special examination was taken solely to ensure that students affected by unforeseen circumstances were not unfairly penalized.

The agency stated that its examination policies are designed to protect candidates from situations beyond their control while maintaining the integrity of the assessment process.

Officials noted that denying affected candidates an opportunity to take the examination would have been inconsistent with the agency's commitment to fairness.

NTA Reaffirms Commitment to Transparency

The clarification concludes by reaffirming the NTA's commitment to conducting examinations in a transparent, fair, and candidate-centric manner.

The agency emphasized that:

• Every CUET PG 2026 candidate was evaluated on the same absolute marks basis.
• No normalisation was applied to any candidate.
• Rescheduling did not alter score calculation methods.
• Examination integrity remained fully protected.

With the clarification now issued, the NTA hopes to address misconceptions surrounding the examination process and reassure students about the fairness of the evaluation system.

Focus on Examination Integrity

As CUET PG continues to serve as one of India's most important postgraduate entrance examinations, transparency in score calculation remains a critical issue for students and universities alike.

The NTA's latest statement seeks to provide clarity on how scores were determined and why special arrangements were made for a limited group of affected candidates.

According to the agency, the objective remained simple: ensuring that every candidate received a fair opportunity to compete under the same evaluation standards.