The Maharashtra government on Saturday postponed the Teacher Eligibility Test 2026 after parts of the question paper were allegedly leaked a day before the examination.
The exam was scheduled to be held on Sunday at 1,028 centres across the state.
In a statement, the Maharashtra State Council of Examination said that it had put in place all necessary security measures in light of the alleged irregularities surrounding the undergraduate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test earlier this year. However, the police received information on Saturday that some persons in Bhiwandi city in Thane district had access to examination paper.
Acting on the information, the Bhiwandi Police conducted a raid and recovered documents from the site. Officials from the examination council verified the material and found that some of the questions in the seized documents matched the eligibility test’s question paper, the statement added.
A criminal case has been registered and an investigation is underway.
The Maharashtra State Examination Council said a fresh date for the examination will be announced later on its official website.
Around 4.28 lakh aspiring teachers were expected to appear for the examination on Sunday, Hindustan Times reported.
The Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test paper leak came even as a protest is underway at Jantar Mantar since June 20, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged paper leak in the Undergraduate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test and other alleged irregularities in competitive examinations.
The protest is led by the Cockroach Janta Party, which began as a satirical political campaign.
The NEET examination originally scheduled for May 3, was cancelled by the National Testing Agency following allegations of a paper leak. More than 22 lakh candidates had appeared for the test the first time.
It was cancelled after the Rajasthan Special Operations Group began investigating allegations that a “guess paper” circulated before the examination contained questions closely matching the actual paper.
The “guess paper” contained around 410 questions, of which about 120 matched the questions asked in the chemistry section, according to the Rajasthan Police. The Central Bureau of Investigation filed a first information report in the matter based on a complaint by the Union education ministry.
Written by Tanya Shrivastava. Edited by Sara Varghese.
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