The Punjab School Education Department (PSEB) is in a soup over 15,000 missing ballpoint pens, it has a case to solve. The mystery has landed about 350 superintendents of the Punjab State Teacher Eligibility Test (PSTET-2015) centres in trouble, more than two years after conducting the test. The Audit Department found that the pens have been missing and there are no accounts of the stationery item in the PSEB, so they asked over 350 central superintendents to furnish details about it in a week. These pens were the paraphernalia that was provided to students to write examinations in December 2015.
The PSTET-2015 written examination was conducted on December 13, 2015, and around 50,000 candidates were registered to appear for the examinations. For a fair examination the PSEB had established 350 exam centres and the candidates were not allowed to bring any type of pen, watch, cell phone, calculator or electronic device so that there is no cheating and trying to pass the examination through fraudulent means. Therefore, pens to write the examination were provided by the PSEB. There were some extra pens as a backup at these exam centres so that if a candidate had trouble with a ballpoint pen then that could be changed and he or she would not be inconvenienced. Engineer Writes Official Letter to Subordinate Asking Back his Matchbox, Lights up Internet With his Wit
The superintendent of the examination centre was supposed to deposit and return back the unused pens as many candidates failed to appear for the exam. However, this did not happen and the Audit Department found that more than 15,000 pens were missing and unaccounted for in the PSEB. As reported, Hargunjit Kaur, secretary, PSEB, said that as per the Audit Department’s objection, the board has demanded that all exam centre superintendents in the state must furnish details about the unused pens that were supposed to be returned back. Teachers in UK Found Cheating to Improve Exam Results; 2300 Malpractices Were Committed Between 2012-2016
Prem Chawla, convener of the Teacher’s Joint Front said that it was a ridiculous exercise and termed it unnecessary harassment of teachers and exam superintendents. He said that it is ridiculous asking teachers to submit details of pens received, used, non-used and returned after an examination conducted two years ago.