MUMBAI: Over 7,800 candidates—aspiring and existing teachers—who had either failed or altered their scores of the Maharashtra Teachers Eligibility Test (TET-2019) in exchange for money have been permanently barred from taking the exam. The TET-2019 had the highest pass percentage of 6.
The test is mandatory under the Right To Education (RTE) Act to be able to teach in primary and secondary schools. Teachers who have joined before 2013 are exempted from the test. The test was not held for two years due to the pandemic. The results of the test held in November 2021, in which over 5 lakh candidates appeared, is yet to be announced.
The TET-2019 conducted in January 2020 came under the scanner a year later after the Pune cyber police unearthed the results manipulation scam in which candidates marks were altered for Rs 50,000 to Rs two lakh.