Youtube channels have school pre-final exam papers day in advance
BATHINDA: Ahead of the final examinations in March, chinks in the examination system of Punjab education department has come to the fore as question papers of the ongoing pre-final tests are appearing on the social media in advance.
Officials said it was found that question papers and answer keys of almost all subjects for classes 6-12 of government institutes were landing daily on at least two Youtube channels. A student of a government school gets 10-20% marks in different subjects on the basis of an assessment of these examinations.
Director general of education department Mohammad Tayyab confirmed on Wednesday that after getting complaints, due action is being taken. Punjab School Education Board (PSEB)’s controller of examination Janak Raj Mehrok said the top brass of the education department has given consent to lodge a police complaint.
“These papers were set and sent to the schools by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT). PSEB deals only with final exams of the board classes. But it is a serious matter and the education department is initiating action to identify those behind it,” said Mehrok.
Close monitoring of the said Youtube channels reveals that papers are uploaded 12-18 hours before the examination.
One of the suspect channels was started on September 5, 2020, and it has 15.26 lakh viewers till Wednesday evening.
As per the details mentioned on another Youtube channel, it has recorded 2.28 lakh views since its launch on February 16.
Prima facie it seems to be a case where unknown persons are interested in monetising or earning money by inviting advertisers on the basis of views, says a department functionary. “There is no input that these preparatory question papers are being sold to students for money,” say sources.
Classroom examination for class 6-12 started on February 15 till March 1. Uniform question papers for these classes are prepared centrally and dispatched to the school heads through email on the eve of the respective examination.
School heads in various districts say the irregularities were detected even during the December tests but no action was initiated.
“I was surprised to spot that most of the students attempted a couple of questions brilliantly which were not even discussed in the class. Later students admitted that they have easy access to all papers with answers on Youtube platforms,” said a biology teacher for class 12 at a government school.
Another faculty member said the higher authorities were apprised of papers being ‘leaked’ on the social media platforms. “This is a mockery of the examination system and secrecy,” said the head of another government school.