UP TET candidates miss exam due to traffic snarls during state's BJP vice-president Durvijay Singh's roadshow

Budaun: Traffic congestion allegedly caused by Uttar Pradesh BJP vice-president Durvijay Singh Shakya's roadshow triggered a political row here on Friday after several candidates claimed they missed the second shift of the state Teacher Eligibility Test.

The district administration acknowledged that some candidates could not reach their examination centres in the district on time and said it would write to the state government seeking permission for them to reappear.

District Magistrate Avinash Kumar Rai said that despite traffic diversions, heavy rain and the BJP leader's convoy affecting traffic movement, resulting in some candidates missing the Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (UP-TET).


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"We will correspond with the state government and make efforts to ensure that candidates who could not appear due to the delay are given another opportunity," Rai said.

Asked whether permission had been granted for the roadshow, the district magistrate said no such permission had been taken to his knowledge.

According to official figures, 4,875 of the 5,639 candidates appeared in the first shift, while 764 remained absent. In the second shift, 4,455 of 5,639 candidates appeared and 1,184 were absent -- 420 more absentees than in the first shift. The administration, however, did not attribute the higher absenteeism solely to the traffic snarls.

Several candidates alleged they were stranded for hours on the Bareilly-Badaun road due to VIP movement and could not reach their examination centres before the reporting deadline.

One of the affected candidates told reporters that she remained stuck in the traffic jam for nearly one-and-a-half hours due to the BJP leader's roadshow and could not reach her examination centre in time.

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She said her examination centre was an inter-college on Nainital Road and that two other women candidates travelling with her also missed the examination. According to her, eight to ten women aspirants were stranded in the same traffic congestion allegedly caused by the roadshow.

The candidate appealed to the authorities to conduct a re-examination for those who missed the test because of the traffic disruption.

"What else can we do now?" she said, expressing disappointment and helplessness.

Samajwadi Party MP Aditya Yadav accused the government of jeopardising the future of aspirants and demanded that those who missed the examination due to the traffic congestion be given another chance after a fair inquiry. He also urged the government not to permit political programmes on the days of competitive examinations.

Senior Superintendent of Police Ankita Sharma said traffic had already been affected due to heavy rain and ongoing repair work on an overbridge, forcing vehicles to use an underpass that had become waterlogged. She said Shakya's convoy entered the city around 2.30 pm, adding to the congestion, while police continued efforts to restore normal traffic.

Rejecting allegations that his roadshow alone caused the disruption, Shakya said he had left his residence at around 10.40 am, after the first shift had already begun, and halted his convoy at two places to allow traffic carrying examination candidates to pass.

He said road widening work on the Bareilly-Badaun route and rain had already slowed traffic and it would be unfair to blame only his convoy for the jams.

Nearly 20 lakh candidates were expected to appear for the Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (UPTET)-2026, being held from July 2 to 4 at 955 examination centres across 60 districts of the state, the Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission said on Wednesday.

The UPTET is a mandatory eligibility examination for candidates seeking appointment as teachers in primary (Classes 1 to 5) and upper primary (Classes 6 to 8) schools in Uttar Pradesh.

The examination was being conducted in five shifts over three days to accommodate the large number of candidates.