‘Who gives a girl multiple chances to sit for an exam?’

“Preparing for the exam is our responsibility. Ensuring the paper is secure is the authorities’ responsibility,” says a visibly angry Anshu Kumari.

The 24-year-old knows the pressures of competitive examinations well. She is a teacher in a school, and is simultaneously pursuing a Bachelor of Education degree through an open university while preparing for the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) for a job in a state school.

In 2023 and 2024, Anshu sat for banking recruitment examinations, hoping to secure a government job, but nothing came her way, so she turned to teaching and while spending nights cramming for state teaching exams.

From Bihar’s Begusarai district, Anshu’s family migrated to Faridabad in the early 2000s, where her father found work as a labourer at a printing press.

Recent paper leaks have left her frustrated and angry with the state. “If they cannot even do that [prevent leaks], where will a student go?” Anshu asks.

“And if you [the government] cannot do that, then step aside,” says Sadhna Jadoun who was standing nearby listening to our conversation at Jantar Mantar early last week.

Principal of a private school in nearby Haryana, Sadhna was participating in the protest started by activist Sonam Wangchuk and the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) against recurring examination paper leaks and a deepening crisis of trust – in public institutions, the larger system and governance. The Jantar Mantar protest saw its first victory when on July 25, 2026, the Union Minister for Education, Dharmendra Pradhan resigned.

The teachers shared with PARI reporters how state jobs are the only hope for low income families like theirs. And also among the few fair chances women get in the formal job sector.

“Who gives a girl multiple chances to sit for an exam?” asks Sadhna who was married at 18 in her hometown of Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Now 35, she had once prepared extensively for competitive examinations while balancing family responsibilities – appearing twice for the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) examination. “Both times, the exam was cancelled because of communal riots in the state,” she recalled.

Not willing to give up, Sadhna did a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree with an eye on the Uttar Pradesh Teachers Eligibility Test (UPTET). One examination was called off amidst similar unrest. Another was cancelled after the question paper was leaked.

The third attempt proved especially painful. Sadhna had completed half the paper when officials entered the examination hall and began collecting answer sheets.

“The paper had leaked again,” she said, her voice breaking. “I can’t put that pain into words,” she added, crying. A young male protester standing nearby, quietly listening to her, offered her a bottle of water.

The repeated setbacks were especially hard because pursuing an education after marriage has been a struggle.

“Girls in India are often not encouraged to study much. I survived…I didn’t take my own life. But there is no guarantee that the next generation, or even my own children, will be able to cope,” she tells PARI.

Sandhya, Sadhna, Anshu and Priyanka travelled from Faridabad by auto-rickshaw to join the protest as public transport had been shut down in areas surrounding Jantar Mantar.

They came directly from the school where they teach, not informing their families. “After seeing videos of girls being dragged by the police and manhandled during the protests, what family would allow girls to come?” Anshu said. “Our families did not permit us, but we believe that without education, you cannot build a future for yourself.”

Principal Sadhna pulled them all together. “We felt that if we did not stand up today, we would carry a sense of guilt, that despite all the pain we have been carrying inside us, we never even came out to speak about it. At the very least, we wanted to let out our frustration,” Sadhna told PARI.

Securing a government job is the best chance Sandhya Sagar and her family have of escaping poverty. “I am the one person my family has pinned its hopes on. Their dream is that I complete my education and get a government job,” the 23-year-old, one of four siblings who is determined to crack competitive exams for state jobs.

Sandhya comes from a family of marginal farmers in Tulsipur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah district. The family owns less than two bighas (roughly 1.2 acres) of land, where they grow wheat and rice for household consumption. Poverty forced her younger brother to start working early to help support the household, even while Sandhya continued her studies. Her older sisters were married off.

From Etawah the family moved to a rented room in Faridabad, Haryana two years ago and currently she teaches at a private school; her brother works as a pharmaceutical delivery agent. Together, they earn around Rs. 22,000 a month, nearly a quarter of which goes towards rent.

Sandhya does not see a private job as her final goal – she is clear that she is only doing this to manage expenses independently. Meanwhile, she has been regularly appearing for government recruitment exams.

In 2022, she cleared the Uttar Pradesh police recruitment examination. It felt like a breakthrough. But then the exam was cancelled after a paper leak. “That was my first attempt. My parents were supportive enough and kept me motivated,” Sandhya said.

Her next attempt at the Staff Selection Commission examination ended with a score below the cut-off. This year, she sat for the Uttar Pradesh Police constable examination, and is now preparing for the Preliminary Eligibility Test (PET) for Group C government jobs like clerks.

Originally from Bihar’s Vaishali district, the 31-year-old Priyanka Yadav moved to Faridabad after her marriage in 2015 and completed her B.Ed. She sat for the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) several times before finally clearing it last year. She was looking forward to applying for a government school teacher’s post after the Bihar government announced that vacancies would be released. But the recruitment process has yet to begin.

“We keep preparing and waiting. But the vacancies do not come,” says Priyanka Yadav. A primary school teacher, she is witness to families who migrate from Bihar and other states to Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), hoping their children will have better educational opportunities – and a better shot at competitive entrances.

“When the government and the system did not give me a chance, I decided to create one for myself,” says Sadhna. “I wanted to prove that I have talent, even if nobody recognised it or valued it, and so I opened a school of my own.”

As Sadhna stands in solidarity with others, the school is being run by those who stayed back. Before leaving, Sadhna told them, “aap yahan school sambhal li jiey, hum morcha sambhal lete hai. [You look after the school for the day. We will take care of the movement].”

When the Union minister resigned, her colleague Sandhya said: “It’s a victory, but I am not celebrating.” Speaking over the phone she added, “what is the guarantee that there will be no more paper leaks? The entire education system needs to be fixed.”

This story was reported in English and Hindi.