Cong slams CBSE, demands probe into ‘exam mafia’

UNDER FIRE Officials defend decision to scrap distinct sets of question papers for Delhi, which may have limited damage

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday lashed out at the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), raising what it described as five key questions, and demanded an independent inquiry into an “exam mafia” allegedly flourishing under the current establishment at the Union government.

Some of the questions raised by the party’s spokesman Randeep Surjewala were regarding the use of separate question-paper sets for students, zonal divisions, and the removal of the CBSE’S previous chairman RK Chaturvedi midway through his tenure in August, 2017.

CBSE officials defended some of their decisions.

The move to do away with separate question papers pertained only to the Delhi region’s set, an official said asking not to be named.

The CBSE previously had distinct sets for Delhi, the rest of India and overseas centres, a practice that many now believe would have limited the impact of the leaks exposed this week.

“Previously, a leak would impact a certain area and we could carry out the retest in those areas. For example in 2014, only Manipur was impacted and exams were carried out only in those centres,” said a retired CBSE official.

But another board official said the Delhi set had to be scrapped after complaints from students that the questions given to their peers in the national capital were easier.

“The decision was taken to ensure fairness to all students. It also ensured that the difficulty level of t he papers remained the same everywhere,” said the official.

Why did the HRD ministry/ CBSE deliberately forgo the established practice of different questions across 3 sets of paper for students in each exam, thereby preventing cheating, duplications and paper leaks? Why the HRD ministry/cbse resorted to setting one paper with identical questions across the country? Why did the HRD ministry/cbse do away with the practice of dividing the country into 4 zones, aimed at further preventing copying, cheating and leaking of papers?

Why did the HRD minister cut short the tenure of previous CBSE chairpersons to replace him with a person of the choice of PM from his days as Gujarat CM of Gujarat? Why did the new chairperson not take any steps to curb the ‘Exam

Also, the official said, that the Delhi set went out to only 250,000 students in tenth and twelfth grade – less than a tenth of the 2.8 million test-takers across country.

The official also said comparison with previous leaks was Mafia’ or cancel the examinations despite receiving the leaked papers?

How is an ‘Exam Mafia’ flourishing under the watch of HRD ministry and Modi govt? Hasn’t the nexus being exposed by the very FIR registered with the Delhi Police?

Why are questionable practices like errors in evaluation of board exams, inflation of marks and other malpractices continuing in CBSE unchecked? Why has CBSE then been assigned the all-important task of conducting NEET Exams/iit Entrance? Are these exams also plagued by similar irregularities?

Should there not be an independent investigation in the ‘Paper Leak’ scam of CBSE?

Previously, a leak would impact a certain area and we could carry out the retest in those areas. For example in

2014, only Manipur was impacted and exams were carried out only in those centres.

A RETIRED CBSE OFFICIAL

unfair, adding that social media and wider use of technology among now lets “anyone sitting anywhere in the world share information with others”.

“So is impossible to ascertain whether a paper that, say, leaked in Jaipur remained only there or reached other parts of the country through technology,” the official added.

The board has been mired in many controversies in the past including those over marks verification and a practice known as moderation.

Last year, students received higher marks after they applied for a verification of their answer sheets, prompting many others to apply for similar rechecks.

The CBSE then admitted to lapses in the totalling of the marks and decided to minimise human interface and introduce technology-based methods.