West Bengal TET Exam Held After 5 Years: 7 Lakh Appear, Minister Refutes 'Paper Leak' Report

The results of the last TET exam in West Bengal, held in the year 2017, are under CBI investigation after the order of the Calcutta High Court over alleged irregularities.

Students outside a centre of West Bengal TET exam

Source : PTI

The West Bengal government on Sunday conducted the Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET) examination after five years. Nearly seven lakh candidates appeared in the test to fill up around 11,000 vacancies for primary teacher posts in government-sponsored and aided schools in West Bengal. 

The recruitment test comes at a time when the 2017 results of the exam are under CBI probe for alleged irregularities as per the instruction of the Calcutta High Court.  

Heavy security arrangements were in place with the state government suspending internet services in the districts of North and South Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, and East and West Midnapore districts an hour before the examination started at 12 PM, reported HT. 

The exam was held in 1,460 examination centres across the state. 

While the state government tried to conduct the exam in an effective manner, several complaints have come forth regarding the mismanagement at the examination centres.  

According to PTI, some candidates who wrote their papers at the Hindu School exam centre in Kolkata alleged that the authorities did not make any arrangement for them to deposit their bags at the entrance. Students alleged that they had to waste their time finding places to keep their bags. They later kept their bags at nearby tea stalls against money. 

Except for pens and some documents, no other item was allowed inside the exam centres, as per the instructions by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE). 

Some students reached their centres only to find that it had been replaced with another one, which resulted in a waste of time. At Kalyannagar School in Khardah in North 24-Parganas district, around six candidates reached the venue only around 2 pm, half an hour before the end of the examination. 

"Our admit cards showed that the centre was at Bisnupur in South 24-Parganas. After reaching there, we found a notice on the school gate saying the centre is closed and some of us were allotted seats at Kalyannagar in Khardah. Local police helped us in reaching Khardah, but only half an hour was left by then. We were allowed no extra time," Sampa Sikdar, a candidate, said. 

At Tirthapati Institution centre in Kolkata, candidates alleged that the biometric system supposed to record the time of entering was not working properly. 

READ: West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee, Amit Shah In 2014 TET Candidates List, Board Says Genuine Candidates

Thrashing all allegations, WBBPE President Gautam Pal said that no untoward incident was reported during the exam and the board did not get any official complaint from the candidates, reported PTI. 

State Education Minister Bratya Basu also denied reports of the paper leak as reported in a section of the media. 

He alleged that "some people" wanted to disrupt the process to discredit the Mamata Banerjee government by circulating fake question papers on WhatsApp. 

Notably, the last TET was held in 2017 and the results are mired in controversy over alleged irregularities in the recruitment process and the CBI is holding investigations into these on orders of the Calcutta High Court. 

Accusing the education board of behaving inhumanly with students, the West Bengal Primary Trained Teachers Association spokesperson and the BJP teachers cell claimed that candidates were not even allowed to carry water bottles inside the centres. 

"We will take up this with the board president to ensure that candidates do not face such treatment in the next TET exams," he added. 

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP told reporters at Chuchura on Saturday that the TET process should be held fairly and transparently. 

"I have got complaints from many candidates that they have received offers over the phone that they will get the questions before the examination if they are ready to pay a certain amount. I hope the administration will ensure no such malpractices will take place, else there will be little point in holding such exams and it will become a farce," he added. 

Reacting to Adhikari's charge, the education minister said, "If anyone has got any concrete information, he should share the same with the primary board.”