New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) The second day of the CUET-UG recorded 76 per cent attendance even as power fluctuations and crowding delayed the exam at four centres.

Over 2.24 lakh candidates were scheduled to appear on the second day of the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for undergraduate admissions.

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University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Jagadesh Kumar said, "Today's attendance was approximately 76 per cent, a significant jump from last year. In only four out of 450 centres today, the exam started later than scheduled but was successfully completed. The exam started late due to a couple of reasons, such as power fluctuations in some centres and, in others, students needing to follow staggered entry."

"Students were informed in the admit cards to enter the centre in a staggered manner. But in a few centres, since they came late, there was crowding and subsequent delay in the start of the exam. We request the students to come (in a) staggered (manner) to avoid this kind of situation. We have now taken administrative measures to prevent such situations in the future. In many cities, we have also taken help from the traffic police to minimise traffic jams around the centres," he added.

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Unlike last year, the exam is being conducted in three shifts. Earlier, the exam was scheduled to be held from May 21-31 but the National Testing Agency decided to extend the schedule by at least four days to accommodate the higher number of candidates.

On Sunday, the exam was delayed at 12 centres due to multiple reasons.

Over 14 lakh applications have been received for the CUET-UG this year, registering a 41 per cent increase from its debut edition last year.

CUET-UG is the second-largest entrance exam in the country in terms of the number of applicants. In its first edition, 12.5 lakh students registered for the exam and 9.9 lakh submitted their applications.

Kumar said, "Candidates and their parents were also regularly informed about the steps taken and the exam start status in the centres where there was a delay in starting the test. We will continue to take measures to provide a better experience to the students sitting for CUET-UG.

"For the second phase (May 25-28), we are working to provide the admit cards by the morning of May 23. We will announce the city information slips for the third phase (May 29 - 2 June) on May 23," he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)