Why just us, ask Class 10 Delhi-ncr students

NEWDELHI: Students and teachers on Friday said that the CBSE’S announcement that Class 10 Mathematics exam retest, if it happens, will only be for DelhiNCR was unfair as the leak happened on social media, which has reach across the country.

A total of 16,38,428 candidates had registered for Class 10 CBSE examination which is being held at 4,453 centres across India.

“This is an illogical and unfair decision. The leaked papers were circulated on Whatsapp and on the internet. So, it is not like it was only circulated in Delhi. It was not due to us that the paper leaked. So, why should we be punished,” asked Sorashi Sharma, a Class 10 student from Springdales School, Pusa Road.

Students demanded that if the retest happens, it should happen at an all-india level as this year there was only one set of question paper that all students attempted for unlike earlier when Delhi, regions outside Delhi and foreign school students appeared for different sets of papers.

Japmaan Sarin, a Class 10 student of Amity International School, Noida, said “If the paper is leaked on Whatsapp then it can be accessed by students from anywhere in India. Then why only students from Delhi-ncr and Haryana have to suffer? I believe the retest should be done across the country.”

Parents and students are also worried about having to continue tuitions till the retest happens. “Mathematics is not a subject that you can attempt without practice so I will have to send my daughter for tuitions till the exams happen again. It is an added financial burden,” said Madhu Bahadur, mother of a Class 10 student.

Education secretary Anil Swarup on Friday at a press conference said that preliminary investigations had revealed the leak of Class 10 paper was restricted to Delhi and Haryana and did not affect students in other states. “We will know for sure in a fortnight,” Swarup said.

Madhulika Sen, senior education advisor, Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar, questioned the move and said it will create administrative problems for schools. “Why is the exam being conducted in July and why not earlier so that students can become tension-free? Should we make the students sit in Class 11 or should they continue to sit in Class 10,” she said.