Students affected by technical disruptions during the Mahajyoti-Vanarti screening examination in Pune and Nanded will get another opportunity to take the test on 10 October, while the authorities investigate what went wrong at the centres.
The re-examination was announced by Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Research and Training Institute, known as Mahajyoti, and the Vasantrao Naik Research and Training Institute, or Vanarti. Their managing directors, Milind Naringe and Prashant Wavge, said an objective inquiry would examine complaints received from the affected centres.
The screening test is used to select students for pre-examination training for the civil services, state services, engineering services, combined Group B and Group C examinations, and recruitment examinations for soldiers in the armed forces. A total of 90,600 applications were received from across Maharashtra, with the examination planned across 64 centres in 32 cities.
In Pune, complaints were reported from the Sun Bright English Medium School centre in Ambegaon, where the examination was held on 7 October. Eligible students from the centre will take the re-test at Nova Consultancy Services in Bibwewadi and the J.P. Online Exam Centre in Vadgaon Budruk on 10 October.
In Nanded, the examination could not be conducted at the Marathwada Online Exam Centre because of technical difficulties on 7 October. Students assigned to that centre will take the re-test at the Dnyandeep Shiksha Prasarak Mandal centre and the Anjangiri Computer Based Centre in Ashtavinayak Nagar, Nanded, on 10 October.
The authorities said the affected students would receive information about their examination centre and reporting time. The announcement places responsibility on the examination administrators to ensure that students impacted by the disruption are identified correctly and provided access to the re-test.
The Pune incident will be reviewed through reports from the centre supervisor, the concerned assistant director of the Other Backward Bahujan Welfare Department and the agency that conducted the examination. Officials will examine CCTV footage from the centres, technical records and the examination process. Naringe and Wavge said action would be taken according to the rules if the inquiry finds irregularities or lapses.
The episode also highlights the operational dependence of large public examination systems on private or outsourced computer-based testing arrangements. With 90,600 applicants and centres spread across multiple cities, failures at even a small number of locations can disrupt access to opportunities linked to publicly supported training programmes. The authorities have not disclosed the specific nature of the technical problems in the supplied report.
The immediate next step is the re-examination on 10 October for eligible candidates from the affected Pune and Nanded centres. The findings of the inquiry, including the review of CCTV footage, technical records and agency reports, will determine whether further action is required.
