Paper leak: CBSE announces re-examination, faces flak from students and parents

Responding to the alleged leak of examination papers, the Central Board of Secondary Education announced on Wednesday that the Class X Mathematics and Class XII Economics examinations will be conducted again. This has angered students and parents, who took to social media to express their outrage.

The dates for the examinations will be announced on the CBSE website within a week, the CBSE said in a notice on Wednesday.

"The Board has taken cognisance of certain happenings in the conduct of certain examinations as are being reported. With the view to uphold the sanctity of the board examinations and in the interest of the fairness to the students, the Board has decided to re-conduct the examinations in the following subjects (Class XII -- Economics and Class X Mathematics)," the CBSE said.

A handwritten version of the Class XII Economics question paper was allegedly circulating on WhatsApp a day before the examination that took place on Monday. Many questions in this leaked paper were actually the same that appeared in the board examination.

Similar allegations of Class X Maths examination leak on WhatsApp emerged yesterday. The paper was held today.

Reports of the leak of the Class XII Accountancy exam on 15 March had also emerged. The CBSE had then lodged a police complaint but so far it hasn't announced a re-exam for paper.

According to ANI, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to HRD minister Prakash Javdekar on the phone and conveyed his disappointment over the paper leak.

Javdekar said that an internal inquiry will take place within the CBSE. “CBSE had a very solid system in place. But if someone is leaking it or there is some loophole, taking that into consideration, a new system will be put in place from Monday which will ensure there is no such leakage. This I want to assure parents and students. I am confident that police will investigate and nab the culprits.”

However, Javadekar did face flak on social media for the leak as well as the fact that he chose to focus more on the communal violence in West Bengal than on the plight on the lakhs of students affected by the leak.

16,38,428 students across the country appeared for the Class X Mathematics examination on Wednesday whereas 11,86,306 students appeared for the Class XII economics examination on Monday.

Sugandhi Dilwari, a parent of an affected student from a Delhi school says, “What is the guarantee that the re-test question paper will not be leaked? How many more attempts will the innocent students have to make for the education board to do its job?”

Bobby George, another affected parent took to Facebook to say, “Just as my son was about to start celebrations after completing his board examinations, this news broke. He is devasted. I seriously hope that good sense prevails and CBSE reverses this decision and conducts a re-test in affected areas only.”

Several other people expressed their disappointment over the decision over Twitter.