Exam paper leak: 2.7m Indians to retake tests
PARENTS AND STUDENTS UPSET AS INDIAN EDUCATION BOARD CANCELS EXAM AFTER QUESTION PAPERS WERE LEAKED IN NEW DELHI
Almost 2.7 million students worldwide, including 11,000 in the UAE, will be impacted by Indian education board’s decision to order re-test following circulation of exam papers on WhatsApp by a suspected gang in New Delhi.
The announcement by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) came as students of grade ten were writing their maths exam yesterday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his unhappiness over the paper leak issue and ordered strict action against those behind the leak. The students will have to take a re-test for Grade 12 Economics and Grade 10 Maths papers and new dates will be announced in a week.
Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar said: “We are confident that people or gang whoever committed this crime will be caught and punished.”
A senior educationist in Dubai said: “We were so relieved and happy that all our students successfully concluded examinations without any incident and thought it was time to celebrate. Now this announcement has stoked the anxiety and stress of all the students impacted by this,” said.
Over 11,000 Indian students in the UAE in Grades 10 and 12 will be impacted adversely after India’s Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) decision yesterday to hold re-examinations in mathematics and economics. The board examinations started on March 5 and are to conclude on April 12.
Yesterday, the CBSE announced it will hold re-examinations for Grade 10 mathematics and Grade 12 economics following reports that question papers were leaked ahead of the exams. The announcement was made shortly after Grade 10 students completed their maths examination yesterday. The Grade 12 economics exam was held on March 26.
In the UAE, nearly 8,474 students appeared for grade 10 mathematics exam and 2,713 students appeared for grade 12 economics paper.
A statement released by the CBSE’s Controller of Examinations said: “The board has taken cognisance of certain happenings in the conduct of certain examination as is being reported. With a view to uphold the sanctity of the board examinations and in the interest of the fairness to the students, the board has decided to reconduct the examinations in the following subjects (Class XII – Economics and Class X – Mathematics).”
In his comments, India’s Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar assured there would be no further leaks of exam papers in the ongoing examinations. “The CBSE will put in place stronger mechanism to ensure no further paper leak happens and the people or gangs responsible for this would be brought to book,” he said, adding that the exam papers were leaked from a school in New Delhi.
The CBSE has set no dates for re-examination and school authorities in the UAE estimate it will take at least a week before the new dates are announced.
The decision has upset both students and school managers as this will impact grade 12 students who prepare for competitive examinations for undergraduate admission in engineering, medical and other professional courses.
“We were so relieved and happy that all our students successfully concluded examinations today without any incident and thought it was time to celebrate. Now this announcement has stoked the anxiety and stress of all students impacted by this,” said a senior educationist from a school in Dubai.
Every year, the CBSE sets papers region-wise where students from India, the Middle East, South Asia and other schools receive different sets of question papers. This year, the CBSE followed a single paper policy for all centres, making re-examination binding on all CBSE schools worldwide.
Dr Ashok Kumar, CEO of the Indian High School Dubai, told Gulf News: “This year, the CBSE did not follow the policy of having papers set according to regions but had a single paper in each subject for the entire region. So the students in the UAE will have to take the reexamination in these subjects.”
“My son had worked hard for his economics examination and was happy his examinations were over. He has to start preparing for some entrance examinations for universities in India and Singapore. Now this delay will upset his plans,” a mother told Gulf News.
A Grade 10 student was agitated saying sincere students have been affected due to the dishonesty of a few.
“I really aced my maths examination paper and came out feeling so good from the examination hall as this was the last day of our examinations. It has been quite a stressful month. Now we learn we have to reappear. I don’t think the second time round I will do such a good job. Here in the UAE, no papers were leaked. So why should we suffer? This is so unjust,” he said.
In the meanwhile, all CBSE schools in the UAE that were preparing for a summer respite after the two most important board examinations realise the stress is not over as they anxiously await notification regarding the new dates and prepare for yet another tension-filled week.
According to CBSE spokesperson Rama Sharma, 1.6 million students are appearing for Grade 10 examinations and 1.1 million for Grade 12 exams worldwide.
In the GCC, 22,542 students are appearing for CBSE grade 10 and 14,694 for grade 12 examinations.