CUET PG 2026: NTA Clarifies Rescheduled Exams For 565 Candidates, Says No Score Normalisation Applied
NTA has clarified that no score normalisation was applied in CUET PG 2026. The rescheduled exam for 565 candidates affected by disruptions was conducted as a welfare measure, and all candidates were evaluated using absolute marks.
Official
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has issued a clarification regarding concerns raised on social media over certain Common University Entrance Test Postgraduate (CUET PG) 2026 subjects being conducted on more than one date and the absence of score normalisation for candidates who appeared in the rescheduled examinations.
Rescheduled exams explained
According to the agency, the rescheduled tests were conducted exclusively for 565 candidates across 28 subjects who were unable to appear on their originally allotted examination dates in March due to circumstances beyond their control.
Exams rescheduled due to disruptions
NTA said the affected candidates were from centres impacted by a law-and-order situation in Tura, Meghalaya, as well as security-related issues at certain overseas examination centres. To ensure that these students were not disadvantaged, the agency organised a special rescheduled examination on March 29 and 30, 2026.
The agency emphasised that the decision was taken as a welfare measure and was aimed at providing an opportunity to candidates who had missed their exams because of unforeseen circumstances.
No normalisation in CUET PG
Addressing questions about score normalisation, NTA stated that CUET PG follows a system of awarding absolute marks to all candidates. This policy applies uniformly to both the main examination and the rescheduled tests.
"As per NTA policy, no candidate's score is normalised in CUET PG," the agency said, adding that there was therefore no exemption or special treatment given to candidates who appeared in the rescheduled examination.
The clarification noted that all candidates were assessed using the same absolute-marks system, regardless of the date on which they took the examination.
Small cohort made normalisation irrelevant
NTA also explained that applying normalisation between the main examination and the rescheduled group would not have been statistically meaningful because of the significant difference in the number of candidates.
For instance, around 16,000 candidates appeared for the English paper in the main examination compared to about 120 candidates in the rescheduled test. Similarly, Political Science had nearly 26,000 candidates in the main examination against roughly 100 in the rescheduled batch, while History recorded around 13,600 candidates in the main test and fewer than 80 in the rescheduled examination.
According to the agency, a small group of around 100 candidates cannot be statistically normalised against cohorts running into tens of thousands.
NTA further stated that the question papers used for the rescheduled examinations had been prepared and approved in advance by subject experts, who certified them as being of equivalent difficulty to those used in the main examination.
Reiterating its position, the agency said that every CUET PG 2026 candidate's score was calculated on the same absolute-marks basis and that the rescheduled examinations did not alter the scoring process in any way.
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