CBSE SHATTERS MANY DREAMS

Students, parents in frenzy over Class X, XII re-exams

Students and parents were left enraged after the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced re-exams for Class X math and Class XII economics over reports of paper leak, questitioning the sanctity of the country’s most renowned education board. The Class XII re-exam for economics will be held on April 25 for Delhi and Haryana but a decision on the re-exam for the Class X math paper will be announced later. There will be no re-examination for Non-Resident Indian (NRI) students.

A hand-written question paper of the Class XII economics examination had allegedly been circulating on WhatsApp a day before the examination. Many questions in this leaked paper were same as those that appeared in the actual examination. Police detained 40-year-old Vicky Wadhwa, owner of a coaching centre at Old Rajinder Nagar in Delhi, for his alleged involvement in the case. The Jharkand police on Saturday detained nine minors in connection with the paper leaks. Till now, police have questioned over 60 people in connection with the case, including the administrators of over 10 WhatsApp groups on which the leaked question papers were shared, as the investigators seek to trace the origin of the leak.

Students have been holding protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi against the CBSE’s decision to hold re-examination. “Many students have other plans for other events and some students families are looking to migrate from one place to another and have already begun their packing, hence, it makes it impossible for them to write their exam (sic),” said a petition filed by Sree Charan, a student.

The CBSE exam leak gave opportunity to the Opposition to lash out at the government. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi tweeted: “How many leaks? Data leak! Aadhar leak! SSC Exam leak! Election date leak! CBSE papers leak! There is a leak in everything, the ‘chowkidar’ is weak,” Congress president Rahul Gandhi said in his tweet.

Shashi Tharoor called the CBSE leak a “disgrace”.

CBSE has now proposed to have electronically coded papers, the key to which will be given only one hour before the exam to the centres and they will print it in the presence of observers. As of now, question papers are stored in bank lockers and released just before the examination. However, CBSE has to work hard its way to regain its lost sanctity in moulding the country’s future.