LUDHIANA: The
Punjab School Education Board (
PSEB) Class XII Mathematics paper has been leaked, following which it was cancelled on Tuesday. Importantly, the exam was announced as cancelled when examinees were already sitting in examination halls waiting for the question papers.
A total of 55,273 regular and 679 open school students were appearing in the Mathematics exam of Class XII, which was scheduled to begin at 2pm. Just minutes before the exam was to begin, the board released a notification, asking examination controllers not to open previously provided question papers, as new question papers would be sent via e-mail. Until 3pm, students were in a dilemma, when the final announcement of cancellation was made by the board. The board has now rescheduled the paper on March 31, and simultaneously initiated investigation to identify the culprit.
Rumours of the
paper leak were doing the rounds on social media since Monday night, but no confirmation was given from PSEB until Tuesday afternoon. Amid rumours, teachers and students reached examination centres, and even answer sheets were distributed among students.
The notification released by PSEB (a copy of which is with TOI) read as: ‘Today, March 20, the scheduled Maths paper — which was received by the controller of examination from banks — should not be opened. All regional examination controllers will be receiving a fresh paper via e-mail, printouts of which they should take and dispatch in signed and sealed envelopes to all schools, who shall also then put a receiving signature on the same. The old question paper packets should not be opened, and should be submitted along with the answer sheets after the exam.’
Soon after receiving the notification, all examination controllers huddled at the office of respective nodal officers, who was directed to provide the prints of the required number of question papers to all schools. PSEB secretary
Hargunjeet Kaur, confirming the paper leak, said: “The board came to know about the news of leaked paper through Whatsapp, which was confirmed after inquiry. Initially, the board decided to give a new paper. However, the process of printing them and providing it to all centres was difficult. Therefore, the board decided to cancel the exam, which is now rescheduled to March 31. The board has also initiated an investigation, which will be conducted by a team of senior officials. The board is also going to get an FIR lodged against unidentified accused in this context.”
Incidentally, along with the Maths question paper of Class XII, answers to questions 6, 8, 17, 18, and 21 had also gone viral on Whatsapp.
Representative image 
