Maharashtra TET Cancelled After Paper Leak in Bhiwandi Leads to Three Arrests
The Maharashtra State Examination Council (MSEC) cancelled the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) on Saturday, just one day before the exam was scheduled to take place on Sunday, following a question paper leak detected during a police raid in Bhiwandi.
The cancellation disrupted the examination plans of 600,125 registered candidates across 1,028 centres in the state.
According to MSEC Chairman Nandkumar Bedse, the Bhiwandi police acted on a tip-off in the early hours of June 27 regarding individuals who had acquired the TET question paper. Officers raided the location and summoned examination council officials to verify the material. The officials confirmed that questions in the seized documents matched the actual exam paper.
Police registered a criminal case and arrested three individuals in connection with the leak. Education department sources indicated that the arrested suspects are from outside Maharashtra, where the TET papers are generally printed.
School Education Minister Dada Bhuse stated that a fresh date for the examination will be announced following a transparent probe. Bhuse also noted that the government is considering transitioning the TET to an online model to ensure transparency and security in the future.
The cancellation has triggered significant anxiety among candidates, particularly serving teachers under the age of 55. Under an apex court mandate, these teachers must clear the TET by 2028 to retain their jobs. Of the registered candidates, 258,061 were set to take Paper 1 for primary classes, while 342,064 were registered for Paper 2 for upper primary classes.
Teacher representatives have expressed strong criticism over the incident. JM Abhyankar, a member of the legislative council representing the teachers' constituency, described the leak as a serious blot on the state's administrative machinery and demanded a CBI inquiry. Activists from the Active Teachers Forum and the Maharashtra Progressive Teachers’ Association have also called for restructuring the exam format and moving the test online to restore credibility.
