Kamal Ghorui
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has cancelled the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) 2026 for Paper 2 at two examination centers because of prolonged delays in the examination as a result of the late arrival of the question papers, causing unrest at the examination centers.Out of the 1,803 centers where the examination of CTET Paper II was scheduled across the country, the examination was successfully conducted at 1,801 centers. However, at the centers in Vaishali district, the candidates had to wait for more than one-and-a-half hours beyond the scheduled time of the examination, and the conducting of the examination was cancelled.Delay in question papers sparks unrestThe exam at St John’s Academy was to begin at 9.30am, but the question papers reached the centre only by 11am. This has caused much frustration among the candidates, as many of them demonstrated inside the centre, complaining about the lapses in the education department as well as the district administration in the timely supply of question papers.As the wait prolonged, candidates started walking out from the examination hall and held demonstrations outside the centre. The situation reached a flashpoint for a while following which police personnel were deployed to maintain order and avoid further disturbance.Police response and administrative actionPolice officers, including Sadar Sub-Divisional Police Officer Gopal Mandal, visited the spot to pacify the agitating candidates in a bid to restore normalcy. Candidates present at the centre said that massive tension was caused for quite some time, and several aspirants said that their attempt at the eligibility test was disrupted due to this confusion.Similar complaints were also reported from another centre in the district, Lakshya International Academy in Mahua, where candidates faced delays relating to the late arrival of question papers.CBSE confirms cancellation at two centresVaishali District Magistrate Varsha Singh said that the complaints were received from both centres. According to her, the question papers, dispatched from Patna by CBSE on the same day, reached almost an hour late, and thus it was not possible to hold the examination.CBSE later issued a statement to confirm that owing to some “unavoidable circumstances”, CTET 2026 Paper 2 could not be conducted at the two centres in Vaishali (Hajipur). The board regretted the inconvenience it caused to all the candidates who were affected by this cancellation.Re-examination to be held within 15 daysThe board ensured that a re-examination of the test would be conducted for the students who were allotted to these centres, as stated above, within the next 15 days. CBSE further stated that the revised schedule of the exam would be separately communicated to students.CTET is an essential eligibility test for aspiring teachers, and the cancellation is affecting the aspirants who turned up to attend the test center for the CTET exam in Paper 2. The board reiterated that the arrangements for the re-examination will be made so that the students will be able to attend the test without any further disruption.
