Students refused to participate in the Rajasthan State Eligibility Test (SET-2026) in the center located in Jaipur on Sunday. The reason was that the question papers were distributed approximately 30 minutes after the scheduled start time, which provoked protests and a boycott due to serious examination irregularities.
The incident took place at Pink City Senior Secondary School on Bainar Road. Candidates reported that the exam was supposed to begin at 11:00 AM, but the materials were only available around 11:30 AM. Following this, several participants left the center and began protesting outside.
Participants also claimed that when they questioned the delay with staff, they were told to either enter the hall and remain silent or leave the premises. Anita Lamb, one of the candidates, questioned whether the same leniency would be shown to students arriving even a minute after the gate closing time.
She told reporters: 'When we asked the institution, they threatened us, saying that if we wanted to take the exam, we had to come in and sit quietly, or we could leave... This has happened with children in the past, it is happening now, and it will continue to happen in the future.'
Candidates claim exam cancellation
The situation escalated when candidates approached the police and voiced their concerns to the local authorities present. Lamb reported that after discussing it with the police, the director showed the candidates a notice stating that the 'exam is cancelled.' 'We accepted the fact that the exam was cancelled,' she added.
Nevertheless, there was no official notification confirming the cancellation of the test at the time of reporting.
Another candidate, Sania Kawal, asserted that students were repeatedly asked to wait five or ten minutes while waiting for the papers. When the materials finally arrived, the candidates were allegedly told that extra time would be provided to compensate for the delay. 'The inspector at my center was an 11th-grade student; she signed the papers as sloppily as a toddler could scribble. We asked why the paper hadn't arrived by 11:00 AM, and we were told it was on its way, asking us to wait five minutes, then another ten. The paper still didn't arrive, and when it did, ten minutes late, they said we would get extra time... we want the cancelled exam to be held again, and secondly, we want this center to be cancelled,' she told ANI.
Candidates stated that they eventually agreed to take the exam after raising their concerns with the authorities. However, the delay and the manner in which the situation was resolved led to a boycott by students at this center.
Irregularities in conducting exams regularly provoke protests. The incident in Jaipur occurs against a backdrop of recurring complaints about the conduct of competitive and government examinations in India. Delays in papers, question leaks, impersonation, technical failures, and allegations of administrative shortcomings have repeatedly led to cancellations, re-examinations, and protests from applicants.
Specifically, the Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers (REET) previously faced accusations of paper leaks and other violations, and the state has also seen glitches in entrance exams due to leaks and fraud allegations. For instance, the Rajasthan Police Constable exam faced a paper leak scandal in 2022, which led to the cancellation of the affected paper and an order for a re-examination.
For SET candidates in Jaipur, the immediate demand is clarity on whether the exam will proceed on Sunday or if it will be cancelled. They also demanded that the Bainar Road center be excluded from future exams and that the test be repeated if officially cancelled.