HRD Ministry forms panel to make CBSE exams leakproof

Following a major embarrassment due to recent leakage of Class X and XII question papers of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the Government on Wednesday set up a committee to suggest ways to make examinations more secure to prevent leaks. The seven-member “high-powered committee” set up by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) will examine the process adopted by the CBSE to conduct examinations.

The committee will be headed by former HRD Secretary Vinay Sheel Oberoi and will have former CBSE Controller of Examinations and Secretary Uttar Pradesh Examination Board Pavnesh Kumar, former NCERT Director and NCTE chairman JS Rajput, former Vice-Chancellor of SNDT Women’s University Vasudha Kamat, and former Director of Education Krishna Mohan Tripathy as its members. The committee will submit its report by May 31.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to interfere with the decision of the CBSE to re-conduct the Class XII Economics examination.

A Bench of Justices SA Bobde and LN Rao even turned down the request for an independent probe into the leakage claiming this was not the job of the court.

According to HRD the committee will revisit all aspects related to the security checks built into the system for ensuring that the question papers reach the examinees without tampering. “The committee will also examine and assess all areas of potential weakness in the present system of transporting question papers from the printing presses to the examinees and suggest ways in which the system can be made more secure with the use of technology and minimisation of human intervention,” senior HRD officials said.

The move comes amid strong criticism of the CBSE and MHRD over the conduct of crucial Class X and XII examinations which were marred by reports of leaks. The MHRD has announced the re-examination of the CBSE Class XII Economics paper on April 25 but let go the Class X retest for Mathematics.

The Delhi Police had registered two cases involving the leaks. The first case, related to the leak of Economics paper was lodged on March 27, while the other pertaining to the leak of Mathematics paper was lodged on March 28, following a complaint by the CBSE’s regional director. The examinations for the Class X Mathematics and Class XII Economics examinations were held on March 26 and 28, respectively.