UPTET 2026: Yogi Adityanath directs foolproof arrangements; says fairness cannot be compromised

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday directed officials to ensure that the fairness, transparency and credibility of the UPTET-2026 examination are not compromised under any circumstances. "Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (UPTET)-2026 is an extremely important examination linked to the aspirations of lakhs of youths. Its fairness, transparency and credibility should not be compromised under any circumstances.

Conducting the examination is not merely an administrative responsibility but a matter of the government's accountability towards the future of the youth," Adityanath said. "Providing every candidate with a safe, well-organised and stress-free environment is the state government's highest priority," he added.

He directed that no candidate appearing for the examination should face any difficulty due to lack of transportation, accommodation, security or other basic facilities. The chief minister was reviewing the preparations for the UPTET-2026 at a high-level meeting on Tuesday. The examination is scheduled to be held on July 2, 3 and 4, the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement. During the meeting, Adityanath adopted a sensitive approach towards the interests of in-service teachers. "Keeping in view the mandatory requirement of the Teacher Eligibility Test, serving teachers should be provided adequate opportunities to establish their eligibility," the chief minister said. With this objective, he directed the Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission to conduct a separate Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) for in-service teachers so that they receive more opportunities and no teacher has to face difficulties merely due to a lack of opportunity.

"A large number of candidates will be coming not only from various districts of Uttar Pradesh but also from other states during the examination. Therefore, adequate assistance arrangements should be ensured at railway stations, bus stands and major transport hubs. Candidates should not face any inconvenience in reaching their examination centres," he said.

The chief minister directed that all examination centres must have drinking water, clean toilets, shaded waiting areas, uninterrupted power supply, fire safety arrangements and emergency medical facilities. Keeping in view the prevailing weather conditions, the health and disaster management systems should remain fully active. The control rooms established in every district should function effectively and ensure immediate action on any information received, he said.

Rehearsal of arrangements

Through video conferencing, the chief minister instructed all district magistrates to mandatorily conduct a full rehearsal of all arrangements one day before the examination to ensure its successful and error-free conduct. "The sanctity of the examination is paramount. Only officers and employees with an impeccable reputation should be assigned examination duties. The entire process of storage, transportation and safe dispatch of confidential examination material to the Commission after the examination should be carried out in accordance with the highest security standards," Adityanath said.

He also directed strict monitoring of attempts to spread rumours, misleading or false information through social media and other platforms, and instructed that prompt and effective action be taken in such cases. It was informed in the meeting that the UPTET-2026 will be conducted at 955 examination centres established across 60 districts of the state. It will be held in five shifts from July 2 to 4. It was also informed in the meeting that a total of 19,94,661 candidates will appear for the examination.

Of these, 17,67,180 candidates are from Uttar Pradesh, while 2,27,481 candidates will be appearing from other states. It was also discussed that the districts with the highest number of examination centres and candidates include Varanasi, Prayagraj, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Kanpur Nagar, Meerut, Mau, Moradabad, Agra and Jaunpur. In Varanasi, 1,27,239 candidates will appear at 68 examination centres. In Prayagraj, 76,634 candidates will appear at 53 examination centres, while in Lucknow, 76,720 candidates will appear at 43 examination centres, the statement said.