700,000 appear in TET exam; education minister denies paper leak report

Nearly seven lakh candidates on Sunday appeared in the TET examination conducted by the WBBPE to fill up around 11,000 vacancies for primary teacher posts in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools.

The West Bengal Board of Primary Education Board (WBBPE) conducted the Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET) examination after a gap of five years in 1,460 examination centres across the state amid tight security arrangements, officials said.

West Bengal Education minister Bratya Basu on Sunday denied there has been any question paper leak in the TET examination and alleged “some people” wanted to disrupt the examination process to discredit the Mamata Banerjee government by circulating fake question papers on WhatsApp.

Basu told reporters that he was satisfied the exams could be conducted smoothly despite attempts by “some people” to derail the process and give a bad name to the Mamata Banerjee government.

Asserting there was no question paper leak in the exams, the minister said “the purported question having been shared on social media is fake bearing no resemblance with the real ones.”

He said a conspiracy was hatched by “a section of people” to halt the exam process in an apparent bid to discredit the initiative by Mamata Banerjee in the interest of lakhs of primary teaching job aspirants

Basu, however, refrained from naming any party or individual.

He said the WBBPE has lodged a complaint with the Cybercrime cell about circulation of fake contents on WhatsApp.

Basu said the exams were held in a peaceful manner and called for cooperation from everybody “as we have to see the deserving TET candidates get jobs. But not everyone can get job. It has to be borne in mind.”

Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari told reporters at Chuchura on Saturday, while BJP was not in favour of disrupting the TET exam process, it should be held in a fair and transparent manner.

“I have got complaints from many candidates that they have received offer over phone that they will get the questions before the examination if they are ready to pay 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, Basu said “if anyone has got any concrete information, he should share the same with the primary board.”

The TET is being held to fill up around 11,000 vacancies for primary teacher posts in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools and nearly seven lakh candidates are taking the examination.

The 2014 TET examination results are mired in controversy over alleged irregularities in the recruitment process and the CBI is holding investigations in these on orders of the Calcutta High Court.

The state Transport department and the Metro Railway have made arrangements for additional services for ensuring smooth travel of the nearly seven lakh candidates taking the TET examination.

The TET 2022 is being held five years after the 2017 examination amid heavy security with substantial police presence at 1,460 examination centres across the state, an official said.

Recruitment of primary teachers on the basis of 2014 TET examination results, which is the subject of a huge controversy in the state, is being investigated by the CBI on orders of the Calcutta High Court.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is also probing the alleged money trail in the matter, arrested former state primary education board chairman Manik Bhattacharya, who is a Trinamool Congress MLA from Palashipara in Nadia district, two months back.

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