The Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test stood cancelled after one of the papers was leaked on November 28 right before the exam. The night before the test, a Special Task Force of the state had arrested 23 people in connection with a reported leak in the exam. The exam is now scheduled to be conducted in a month's time.
Announcing stringent action against the culprits, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that they will be booked under the National Security Act and the Gangster Act. He also tweeted that the properties and possessions of those apprehended will be seized by the government. Additional Director General Law and Order Prashant Kumar said that a photocopy of the question paper was recovered from the students, prompting the authorities to cancel the exam, according to a report by PTI.
Basic Education Minister Dr Satish Dwivedi said "UPTET 2021 examination has been cancelled following information of paper leak. The UP government will conduct the exam again within a month."
The roughly 20 lakh aspirants will be transported back to their respective towns in state-operated buses. They will not be required to pay the fee for the fresh examination, as all costs will be borne by the government.
On the cusp of Assembly elections in early 2022, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party engaged in a blame game with UP's BJP administration, and claimed that the Yogi government was "protecting" the top dogs in an exam leak racket, which is being investigated by the state's Special Task Force.
