CBSE to have new leak-proof exam mechanism: Govt

NEW DELHI: Facing the heat of parents, students as well as Opposition parties over the CBSE question paper leaks, the Government on Thursday said that new dates for re-examination would be announced very soon — either on Monday or Tuesday. Speaking to reporters, Union Human Resources Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar called the paper leak incident “unfortunate” and promised speedy arrests in the matter.

Notably, the re-examination has been necessitated after the papers of the Economics exam of class XII held on March 26 and Maths exam of class X held on March 28 were leaked on social media hours before the examinations. “This is a very unfortunate development. I understand the pain the parents and students have to go through as I too am a parent,” he said, adding, “Whoever is involved in the paper leak will not be spared. The police will soon arrest the culprits.”

Stressing that the Government would take all appropriate action to book the culprits, Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh, who too was present on the occasion, said that some gangs have been operating in this manner since 2012. “Now, what has come out is that some gangs were operating since 2012. Our government was not in power. This government is now taking action,” Singh said, adding that this gang used to do the same through software abuse.

Meanwhile, CBSE Chairman Anita Karwal, who was untraceable since the day of the paper leaks, said, “We have taken a decision in favour of the students. We are working for their good. Dates for re-examination will be announced soon,” Karwal said on Thursday after having a closeddoor meeting with the HRD Minister and other key officers prior to the scheduled Press conference.

According to sources, the CBSE chairman faced the ire of the HRD Minister for not responding on time after the paper leak incident. “This is the first time that question papers of the CBSE have been leaked. It’s an attempt to disrepute the credentials of our robust system by some miscreants,” Javadekar said.

However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Wednesday also spoken to Javadekar about the CBSE paper leaks. According to sources, the Prime Minister had expressed unhappiness over the issue.

On Wednesday, the HRD Minister had expressed grief over the leak of CBSE question papers and said that a ‘new mechanism’ would be put in place from Monday where there will be a ‘leak-proof’ arrangement. “Ek nayi vyavastha layenge (There will be a new leak proof mechanism installed),” Javadekar said.