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Ahead of REET, Rajasthan suspends mobile internet, SMS services in 5 districts
Rajasthan Teacher Eligibility Test or REET is being conducted by the Ajmer-based Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education at 3,993 exam centres across the state.
The Rajasthan government has snapped mobile internet and SMS services in five districts of the state for 12 hours on Sunday as the state holds Rajasthan Teacher Eligibility Test or REET to select teachers for government schools to prevent cheating in exams, according to reports. The services will be unavailable from 6am to 6pm in Ajmer, Alwar, Dausa, Jhunjhunu, and Jaipur rural districts, the reports added. Collectors of the Ajmer, Alwar, Dausa, Jaipur and Jhunjhunu districts can decide if they want to extend or shorten the blackout period and officials in several other districts can decide if they want to suspend mobile internet.
As many as 16.51 lakh candidates have enrolled for REET 2021—the biggest exam in the state in terms of the number of candidates. REET is being conducted by the Ajmer-based Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education at 3,993 exam centres across the state.
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The state government has announced free travel for REET candidates in both state roadways and private buses while the North Western Railway is also operating 26 special trains covering almost all important stations from September 25 to 26 to help candidates reach their exam destinations and back home. The state government has also deployed its personnel to make all arrangements and directed the state police to check on those involved in duping candidates in the name of help in clearing REET.
Transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said the state government is committed to the successful conduct of the exam keeping the safety and convenience of the examinees. He said chief minister Ashok Gehlot is keeping an eye over the arrangements for REET 2021 and no laxity of any kind will be tolerated.
Meanwhile, six REET candidates were killed and five others injured when a van in which they were going from Baran to Sikar to take the exam rammed into a tractor-trolly in Jaipur district's Chaksu area on Saturday. Chief minister Gehlot expressed condolences on their and announced an ex-gratia of ₹50,000 to the injured and ₹2 lakh to the families of the deceased on Saturday. "I request all the candidates to be careful while travelling. Do not drive at high speed and recklessly. Use public transport as much as possible. No exam can be bigger than your life,” Gehlot said in a tweet in Hindi.
