New Delhi: When she stepped out of her house on 15 March this year, Bharti Kumari was confident of clearing the Bihar Teacher Recruitment Exam (TRE). Ever since she was a child, Bharti had dreamed of teaching and becoming financially independent.
But by the time she returned home to Bihar’s Saharsa district, Bharti found out that the TRE-3 exam for which she appeared had been cancelled. The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC), which conducts the exam, took the decision upon being informed about a question paper leak around 2:30 PM — two hours after the first batch of aspirants, including Bharti, appeared for the exam.
Earlier that morning, the Bihar Police’s Economic Offences Unit (EOU) conducted multiple raids in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh, acting on inputs that the TRE-3 exam question paper had been compromised by a gang.
The BPSC is yet to announce fresh dates for the exam, to be held across 415 examination centres across the state, leaving 3.75 lakh aspirants in the lurch. In October last year, another 18 lakh students in Bihar suffered the same fate after a paper leak led to cancellation of a recruitment exam for constables.
From Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to Telangana and Gujarat, aspirants like Bharti continue to be under the harrowing curse of cancellations, postponements, and re-exams. Some cannot afford to wait for a re-exam owing to financial constraints and are forced to take up jobs at the cost of abandoning years of preparation.
Others, who wish to reappear, have to prepare all over again in the hope that their efforts would not go in vain.
There are also those like Bharti, fighting a two-front battle — fending off against pressure from the family to get married; and overcoming anxiety stemming from her unfulfilled dream of becoming a teacher.
In Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the series, ThePrint explained how complicit officials and repeat offenders take advantage of a fragile supply chain and loopholes in the law to turn a profit while endangering the future of millions of aspirants.
In part 4, ThePrint looks at the stories of these aspirants.
Also Read: Complicit officials, fragile supply chain, gangs on the lookout — anatomy of a paper leak
A ticking clock
Unlike her brother who cleared the TRE-1 exam, Bharti (25) does not have the benefit of time to prove her capabilities to her family. “I won’t get too many opportunities. As is usual with women, my family is very keen to get me married. It is double pressure for me. Paper leaks and cancellation push the dreams of women like me into the dark,” she said.
Her father is a farmer with a monthly income of Rs 10,000.
Having graduated in Mathematics in 2020 from Magadh University, Bharti said she missed out on clearing the TRE-2 exam by a few marks.
“I thought this year I would finally have a government job and help the family financially and also with the wedding. I wanted to be a government teacher because it doesn’t require coaching. Teaching is a respectable and noble profession,” she told ThePrint.
Adding, “Who is responsible for this (paper leak)? A lot has been lost and a lot is at stake.”
‘Takes five years to fill vacancies’
The case of Thakor Dilu Chinaji from Gujarat’s Patan district is somewhat similar to Bharti’s.
Having graduated in 2017, Dilu (25) borrowed Rs 30,000 to pay for a coaching institute to help him prepare for the Bin Sachivalaya Clerk and Office Assistant (Grade 3) Exam conducted by the Gujarat Subordinate Service Selection Board (GSSSB). During this time, his younger brother, still in college, took up a part time job to support the family.
But the exam — held on 17 November 2019 for 6 lakh candidates — was cancelled after protests broke out over CCTV footage showing aspirants cheating at some examination centres. It was also alleged that the question paper was circulated on WhatsApp.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) later arrested one Pravin Dan Gadhvi, a village-level government functionary, in connection with the leak which it said occurred at the MS Public School in Ahmedabad’s Dani Limda.
“The exam was conducted after four years in 2023. Not everyone has the resources to keep waiting. I had to support my family. I already wasted Rs 30,000 apart from wasting two years on preparation,” Dilu told ThePrint.
He added, “In Gujarat, it takes at least five years to fill vacancies through recruitment exams. It is a slow and tedious process. There is also a lot of pendency. For the recruitment exams to be held again, it is a long gap of 4-5 years and with paper leaks and compromises, it is just excruciating.”
“My father is old and he can no longer work on the farm,” he said.
Dilu added that it was for these reasons he decided to give up on his dream of a respectable government job and joined a private firm with a monthly salary of Rs 12,000.
Also Read: Repeat offenders, loopholes in law — inside India’s multi-crore paper leak industry
‘Future seems darker with each passing day’
Ravi Motla’s case, too, is a textbook example of how one’s fascination with a government job can have unintended consequences. Ever since his cousin got into the National Defence Academy, Ravi had his sights set on government recruitment exams. But he couldn’t make the cut for the armed forces owing to a blockage in his ear drums.
He then changed course and joined a coaching centre in Meerut — paying Rs 7,000 as monthly fee and travelling 22 km each day from his native village Dadri to attend classes.
He was among the 46 lakh aspirants who appeared for the Uttar Pradesh Constable Recruitment Exam in February this year, which was later cancelled in light of allegations of a question paper leak. The allegations stemmed from a viral video purportedly showing a few aspirants with the leaked question paper two days before the exam.
The leak was probed by the UP Special Task Force (STF) which arrested an alleged mastermind and filed a 900-page chargesheet.
But for aspirants like Ravi, the damage had been done.
“I have to support myself and look after my family. We sold all our land and my brother has a private job, earning Rs 15,000 per month. Of this, Rs 3,000 is spent on commuting to the coaching centre. With each passing day, the future seems darker,” said Ravi.
“Instead of going to the coaching centre and library, I now think I should use that time to go to court and learn something. At least I will have something to learn. There is no guarantee there won’t be another paper leak or cancellation,” he lamented.
Having completed his BA LLB, Ravi — who is currently pursuing LLM — now plans to start practising law.
Feeling of exhaustion, hopelessness
Another case is that of a 29-year-old doctor, a native of Assam, who had been preparing for the NEET PG 2024. Due to be held on 23 June, the exam was cancelled at the eleventh hour and will now be held on 11 August.
“Doctors posted in hospitals don’t get leaves and are on call almost everyday. It is difficult to study with the amount of work load — patients, rounds and emergencies. It is a mammoth task to manage both, and the exam bodies have rescheduled the exam not once but thrice this year,” said the 29-year-old who did not wish to be named.
Having completed his MBBS four years ago, he is posted in a jail in Assam. “My day starts at 6 AM and goes on till midnight on most days. Sometimes it extends through the night since I am the chief medical officer on duty and there are emergencies in jail. I study on duty as it gets extremely tiring to study on most days after coming back from work.”
On the NEET PG 2024 exam, the 29-year-old said he took seven days’ leave to prepare and appear for the exam “but all of it went to waste”.
“It is exhausting and we are slowly feeling hopeless. All of this has led to a situation of panic.”
‘Had a fair chance of qualifying’
The story of 25-year-old Sourav Choudhary, a resident of Deogarh in Jharkhand, is even more harrowing. He had been preparing for a government job since he completed his graduation in Mathematics in 2018. But the exam he hoped to crack — Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) Combined Graduate Level Examination (CGL) — had been in limbo for nine years. It was finally held in January 2024, only to be cancelled on account of a paper leak. Fresh dates for the exam are yet to be announced.
Though the Jharkhand Police chargesheeted seven accused, including an undersecretary of the state legislature and his two sons, the exact source of the leak and chronology of events is still under investigation.
“I started preparing straightaway after graduation and the wait was frustrating. Having crossed every hurdle, we were ready to appear for the exam and give it our best, considering the high number of vacancies, when we learnt of the paper leak and cancellation,” a distraught Sourav said.
He felt he could have cleared the exam, if not for the paper leak, and improve the lives of his two younger siblings and ageing parents.
For Sourav, it was also a double whammy — another exam he appeared for earlier this year, the Bihar Teacher Recruitment Exam, was also cancelled.
“Since JSSC exams were not held for nearly a decade, I did BEd as backup to take part in the massive teacher’s recruitment drive in Bihar. I missed by a few marks in the second round last year while my aspiration to qualify in the third round was dashed by a paper leak,” he said.
“I believe I had a fair chance of qualifying; this is so disheartening.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)