PRAYAGRAJ, June 27 -- The Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (UPTET)-2026, scheduled to be held after a gap of four years, will be conducted under the supervision of retired IAS and IPS officers to ensure a fair, transparent and malpractice-free examination process. For this, the Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission (UPESSC) has appointed retired senior administrative and police officers as district observers for the examination. One observer has been assigned to each district, while members of the commission have also been deputed to monitor the conduct of the examination across the state, said a senior official aware of the move. The examination will take place in five shifts between July 2 and 4 at 955 centres across 60 districts and is expected to be taken by over 19.94 lakh candidates across the state. The upper primary level (Classes 6 to 8) examination will be conducted in both shifts on July 2 and in the first shift on July 3. The primary level (Classes 1 to 5) examination will be held in the second shift on July 3 and the first shift on July 4. The first shift will be conducted from 9.30 am to 12 noon, while the second shift will be held from 2.30 pm to 5 pm. Officials said details of allotted examination districts were uploaded on the commission's website on June 22, while admit cards will be available for download from June 30. The commission has advised candidates to carry only a clipboard or a plain hardboard/cardboard and a black ballpoint pen to the examination centre. Use of any ink other than black ballpoint pen has been prohibited. Candidates have also been barred from carrying mobile phones, tablets, pen drives, hard disks, data cards, calculators, Bluetooth devices, earphones, wristwatches, ATM cards, electronic gadgets, metal objects, hearing aids not permitted by rules, graph sheets, maps and slide rules inside the examination centres. Exchange of any material inside the examination hall will also be treated as a violation of examination rules. The commission has warned candidates against using whitener, erasers or blades to alter entries made on the OMR answer sheet. It said answer sheets with improperly filled circles or incorrect information would not be evaluated, and the responsibility for such errors would rest solely with the candidate. After the examination, candidates will have to hand over the complete set of answer sheets to the invigilator without separating the copies. The invigilator will detach the candidate's copy after verification and return it to the examinee. Candidates will be required to remain seated until the process is completed....