HTET 2026 Controversy: Congress flags broken seals, OMR mismatch; HBSE issues clarification

The Haryana Board of School Education (HBSE) has rejected allegations of irregularities in the Haryana Teacher Eligibility Test (HTET) conducted on July 4 and July 5, asserting that the examination was conducted in a 'fair, transparent and secure manner'. The clarification came after senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala alleged large-scale lapses in level-3 examination for Post Graduate Teacher (PGT) posts. He demanded to cancel and re-conduct the test.

In an official statement, HBSE Chairman Shankar Lal Dhoopar and Secretary Munish Sharma thanked Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Education Minister Mahipal Dhanda, district administration, police officials and media personnel for ensuring the smooth conduct of the examination. The board urged candidates and parents not to rely on unverified claims circulating on social media.

Earlier in the day, MP Surjewala alleged that the July 4 HTET Level-3 examination , conducted at 238 centres across Haryana, had been compromised. He alleged paper leak, broken seals on question paper packets, mismatched OMR sheets, wrong question papers and several printing and typographical errors.

He claims that sealed packets containing question papers were allegedly found broken at examination centres in Rewari, including Sanglo and Suraj schools, and at some centres in Charkhi Dadri. When asked, invigilators told candidates that they received packets from HBSE in the same condition.

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He further alleged mismatches between the serial numbers on question papers and OMR sheets at centres in Rewari and Kaithal. He also claimed that some candidates initially received OMR sheets carrying another candidate's roll number before they were replaced after objections. Questioning the availability of spare OMR sheets, he raised concerns over the integrity of the examination process.

The Congress MP also alleged that some candidates appearing for the English PGT examination were initially given Economics question papers before the mistake was corrected. He further claimed that the question papers contained multiple errors , including a missing passage for questions numbered 141 to 150, an incomplete Hindi grammar question, spelling mistakes in English, incorrect translation of the word "Urine" as "Wine" in Hindi and incorrect numbering of questions in the Commerce paper.

Demanding cancellation of the examination, Surjewala called for a fresh test, registration of an FIR into the alleged irregularities and action against officials of the Haryana Board of School Education. He also urged Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to apologise to the state's youth and accept responsibility for the alleged lapses.

HBSE clarifiation

Responding to the allegations, HBSE clarified that OMR answer sheets are not linked to any specific question paper and that evaluation is carried out only on the basis of the candidate's roll number. Therefore, any mismatch in serial numbers between the OMR sheet and the question paper would not affect the evaluation or results.

The board also addressed reports of allegedly opened question paper packets at a Rewari examination centre, explaining that examination rooms had seating for 24 candidates while question paper bundles were packed in sets of 20. Opening an additional packet to accommodate all candidates was a standard procedure and did not compromise the confidentiality of the examination, it said. The entire process was videographed by the district administration, the board added.

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HBSE said candidates can submit objections regarding technical errors or questions through the prescribed process, following which subject experts will review the representations. The board assured that no candidate would be disadvantaged due to any genuine error and reiterated that the examination was conducted fairly and securely.

Ahead of the HTET, security measures were put in place across Gurugram, Nuh and Faridabad to ensure the smooth conduct of the examination. Candidates in Gurugram could dial the emergency helpline 112 if they were running late for the test or needed any emergency assistance. Adequate police personnel were deployed at all examination centres in Gurugram.