BENGALURU: Question papers of two subjects in the ongoing SSLC preparatory examinations were allegedly leaked and forwarded on social media, dealing a huge embarrassment to the Karnataka Secondary Education and Examination Board (KSEEB) which is conducting the examination.
Mathematics question paper was circulated on social media on Tuesday, the day of the exam. Copies of English paper went viral an hour before the exam began on Wednesday morning. The exams, which began on February 17, are being held in 12,536 schools in Karnataka.
After the leak of maths paper, KSEEB registered a complaint with police on Tuesday. Later, the board reassured all schools that paper leak won't recur. Within 24 hours of that statement, the chinks in KSEEB started appearing with reports of science, social science and Hindi question papers doing the rounds.
Will identify miscreants soon: Official
KSEEB director (exams) Sumangala V dismissed rumours about science paper leak and said, “I don’t know whether there are other papers circulating... We will identify the miscreants soon.”
Primary and secondary education minister S Suresh Kumar on Wednesday held a meeting with the commissioner of public instruction and asked KSEEB to file an FIR and instructed DDPIs to be vigilant against question paper leak.
TOI had earlier reported that the schools had raised concerns about the way question papers were delivered to exam centres. The papers were tied up with a tape in a black bag usually used for disposing of waste. The KSEEB had defended its decision, saying all necessary protocols had been followed and the cover was waterproof.
Sumangala sought to allay fears of schools, saying SSLC preparatory and main exams are entirely different and the annual exams, starting on March 27, will be held in all seriousness with no scope for leak of papers. “We’ve been conducting the exams for many, many years and our credibility has been proved,” she said, adding the preparatory exams are only a dry run — to test students’ preparedness and introduce them to the exam pattern.
Incidentally, KSEEB is conducting preparatory exams for the first time. Until now, it was conducted by headmasters’ associations. A school headmaster said the leakage has confirmed their worst fears. “A question-paper leak — even in a preparatory exam — demotivates students and teachers. It shakes one’s faith in the main exam,” he said.
Psychologists said systemic lapses affect students’ morale. Said Sulata Shenoy, director, Turning Point Centre for Psychological Assessments, Therapies and Counseling: “It’s sad that students have to endure the trauma of a re-exam for no fault of theirs. Authorities shouldn’t allow systemic lapses to occur as students may fear the leak could repeat in the finals.”
Mathematics question paper was circulated on social media on Tuesday, the day of the exam. Copies of English paper went viral an hour before the exam began on Wednesday morning. The exams, which began on February 17, are being held in 12,536 schools in Karnataka.
After the leak of maths paper, KSEEB registered a complaint with police on Tuesday. Later, the board reassured all schools that paper leak won't recur. Within 24 hours of that statement, the chinks in KSEEB started appearing with reports of science, social science and Hindi question papers doing the rounds.
Will identify miscreants soon: Official
KSEEB director (exams) Sumangala V dismissed rumours about science paper leak and said, “I don’t know whether there are other papers circulating... We will identify the miscreants soon.”
Primary and secondary education minister S Suresh Kumar on Wednesday held a meeting with the commissioner of public instruction and asked KSEEB to file an FIR and instructed DDPIs to be vigilant against question paper leak.
TOI had earlier reported that the schools had raised concerns about the way question papers were delivered to exam centres. The papers were tied up with a tape in a black bag usually used for disposing of waste. The KSEEB had defended its decision, saying all necessary protocols had been followed and the cover was waterproof.
Sumangala sought to allay fears of schools, saying SSLC preparatory and main exams are entirely different and the annual exams, starting on March 27, will be held in all seriousness with no scope for leak of papers. “We’ve been conducting the exams for many, many years and our credibility has been proved,” she said, adding the preparatory exams are only a dry run — to test students’ preparedness and introduce them to the exam pattern.
Incidentally, KSEEB is conducting preparatory exams for the first time. Until now, it was conducted by headmasters’ associations. A school headmaster said the leakage has confirmed their worst fears. “A question-paper leak — even in a preparatory exam — demotivates students and teachers. It shakes one’s faith in the main exam,” he said.
Psychologists said systemic lapses affect students’ morale. Said Sulata Shenoy, director, Turning Point Centre for Psychological Assessments, Therapies and Counseling: “It’s sad that students have to endure the trauma of a re-exam for no fault of theirs. Authorities shouldn’t allow systemic lapses to occur as students may fear the leak could repeat in the finals.”
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