No encrypted exam papers yet: CBSE

NEW DELHI: After toying with the idea of using only encrypted question papers in CBSE class 10 and 12 board examinations this year following last year’s question paper leak episode, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is sticking with the traditional method of sending question papers to test centres due to “logistical reasons”.

During the 2018 board examinations for class 10 and 12, paper leaks in Delhi and some other parts in the country over WhatsApp had resulted in major embarrassment and loss of face for the CBSE and the Union Human Resources Development ministry. 

Widespread protests broke out across the country after the board decided to re-organise the two board examinations after news of the leaks was made public last year.  
The board had then decided to adopt a new system to deliver question papers to examination centres by sending encrypted digital copies directly to schools. Passwords to open the files would be given to the centres at a specified time.

“We tried this system during a few compartment exams at 32 centres last year wherein schools were asked to open and then print the question papers at a given time,” a government official in the school education department of the Human Resource Department Ministry said.
He however, conceded that logistically it would be difficult to print question papers at all 4,500 examination centres during the regular examination.

“Our assessment said that many schools have the required hardware and printing facilities to carry out the examination but in cases where it’s not there, it would not be easy to provide infrastructure and logistic support,” another official from the HRD ministry said.
“So to be on the safe side, we are sending physical papers to centres and encrypted question papers are being prepared only as a back-up plan,” he added.

The board, at one point, had even thought of sending question papers to tablets, which the students could access to answer but did not go ahead with it because of high costs involved.