The II PUC question paper leak last month was not the first time. Indeed, in examinations run by the PU Board, it’s almost a regular affair. That we rarely hear about CBSE or ICSE Board question papers leaking should give state Education authorities pause, and spur reform. Experts suggest it could start with giving the PU Board autonomy, so that ministers’ secretaries and sundry other government officials do not have access to or interfere with its working.
With the second round of talks on Thursday failing to break the impasse between the state government and striking PU lecturers, they have now been given an ultimatum to report for valuation work by noon Friday or face action. But Mr. Thimmappa Purle, president of the PU lecturers' union, remained as adamant as ever, saying there was no question of withdrawing the valuation boycott till the government implemented the Kumar Naik report on their salary structure. “Issues like imposing ESMA did not come up at the meeting. We want a hike in our basic salary” he insisted, speaking to DC. The government reportedly offered to implement the Kumar Naik report in two phases, but the lecturers were in no mood to accept this, according to sources.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) literally banks its Class X and XII final examination question papers to keep them safe. The board, which is currently holding both Class X and XII examinations beside JEE and the AIMPT, makes sure that the school-cum-examination centre fills an application form at the the nearest branch of its chosen bank, where the sealed question papers are locked away. The question paper bundles are taken from the bank only an hour prior to the examination and transported to the examination centres under tight police security.
Govt should take strict measures: Mohandas Pai, Head, Manipal Global Education
It’s the corruption in the system that leads to PU question paper leaks. Nobody in the government agency cares how the exams are conducted, who is involved in the process and what happens to the students. There’s a minister’s PA involved in the scam, which shows the kind of money people can make from selling question papers. There has been only once such incident in CBSE Class 12 exams, but there are so many more in the PU exams. It’s time the state government took stringent measures to prevent such incidents and made the process of conducting exams more robust. The solution lies in adopting technology to conduct exams and in providing tighter security to the entire process.
PU Board should be made autonomous: M.S. Thimappa, Former VC, Bengaluru University
Question paper leaks have been reported for many years but they have become more rampant now because selling the papers is proving so lucrative today. From top officials to ministers, everybody is only interested in amassing wealth. I don’t understand why the state government has to control the PU Board. Like universities, which conduct their own exams, why can’t the PU Board too become an autonomous body? We need to understand that the question papers are handled and distributed by non-academic people, who predominantly hail from the shadows of corrupt government offices. All they know and care about is making money. And unlike universities, which give responsibilities to academicians, the PU examination process does not give responsibility to anyone in particular. Many of the corrupt in the system are fostered by the state government and so they don’t fear anything or anyone. It’s time the government made the PU Board an autonomous body monitored by watchful academicians, who must be held be accountable and responsible if something goes wrong during examinations.
With the second round of talks on Thursday failing to break the impasse between the state government and striking PU lecturers, they have now been given an ultimatum to report for valuation work by noon Friday or face action.
Not sure if there can be a solution: Harish Gowda, Former Director, Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA)
There are multiple aspects to the PU question paper leak. It appears that some of the ‘leaking’ could have been done while the question papers were being transported. One reason why CBSE or ICSE question papers don’t leak is because there is no political interference in conducting these exams, unlike in the PU exams in which even a minister’s PA is involved! The system provides room for interference by an MLC, a minister and who knows who else? Such interference has to be stopped. I don’t have much hope that such leaks will not again take place next year or the year after. It’s impossible to make India honest and even technology cannot help it achieve this. So even if we use technology for our exams , I am not sure it is the remedy. I believe that such incidents are only likely to increase in future because selling question papers is becoming so lucrative today.
IP tracking, MAC ID binding can ensure foolproof security: Nagendran Sundararajan Executive Vice President MeritTrac
It is important for all examination bodies to leverage the best practices in conducting exams. Use of technology has brought anonymity to the final question paper content. The just-in-time question paper method involves the creation of a bank of questions or question papers, hosting them in a secure data centre, and delivering them just in time to the examination centres electronically in encrypted form. The decryption rules are made available just in time to senior administrators at the test centres.
Additional security measures like IP tracking and MAC ID binding can ensure foolproof security. Besides, unique identifiers can be placed as a watermark or barcode on every page to help trace every question paper from its origin and time of printing. The printing should take place in a secure room at the test centres or regional hubs under surveillance cameras and senior observers, so that the security and confidentiality of the question paper is maintained right from creation to delivery.
CET question papers safe, no chance of leak, assures KEA
Reassuring PU students that their trials are behind them, the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) has said the Common Entrance Test (CET) question papers are safe and there is no possibility of a leak. The authority has, however, not yet ordered printing of the question paper and has decided to wait until the last minute to do so as an added safeguard, according to sources. “The KEA has its own foolproof methodology of setting question papers and distributing them. No one knows what happens in its examination section,” said an officer of the authority, also pointing out that despite the II PU question paper leak, students didn't have to worry about it impacting their CET results as their final examination marks were not taken into account when allotting medical ranking.
PT teacher was a star, before he was outed
As the drama of the PU question paper leaks plays out, more scandalous facts are emerging every day. The spotlight now is on a couple of physical education teachers, one of whom was reportedly a much respected figure in the whole of West Bengaluru, before his alleged involvement in the present scam was shamefully exposed.
“PE teacher Anil Kumar HK of Poornaprajna Education Centre in Sadashivanagar, who has been arrested, was a VIP in the whole of West Bengaluru, being active in conducting state and national level tournaments.
He had access to officials, people's representatives, social activists and so on and used his contacts to make a great deal of money by leaking the question papers,” says an officer of the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), adding that he was a regular visitor to the DPI office on Nrupatunga road. “And all this because of his organising skills for sports events," he notes ironically.
Going by DPI officials, most PE teachers have a solid network across the state as their jobs demand it. “It is sad to see a few teachers misusing their contacts for such illegal work,” regrets an officer. Also, PE teachers play a key role in the running of any school as they have limited job pressure, according to some managements. “Unlike other teachers, PE teachers have direct contact with every student. They are like the school's key contact with the rest of society and are often used for admissions and so on, “ says the head of a school.
General secretary of the Karnataka Associated Manage ment of English Medium Schools (KAMS), D. Shashikumar, claims he was not surprised to hear of the involvement of a few PE teachers in the question paper scam as most enjoy a larger than life image in schools and are much sought after. “They must be recruited more carefully after proper background checks are carried out,” he suggests.
