Hyderabad: Controversy marred the National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) held in Telangana on Sunday.
It was alleged that mass copying and leak of the question paper took place in two schools in Badichowdi and Narayanaguda. However, Education department authorities issued an official statement that nothing of that sort happened.
Rumours about irregularities spread around 1 pm, the closing time for the exam. Shocked Education department officials visited the centre and after an enquiry, declared that everything went off well and there were no malpractices.
In an official statement in the evening, director of Government Examinations, Mr Surender Reddy, said that the allegations were baseless. “It came to our notice that corporate colleges were behind this spread of rumours. The fact that allegations were made after the exam was over raises doubts. The Hyderabad DEO rushed to the centres and confirmed that no irregularities occurred,” he said.
Meanwhile, student unions SFI (Student Federation of India) and AISF (All India Students Federation) demanded cancellation of the exam. AISF state president Mr M. Venu blamed a few corporate colleges for the mess demanding stern action against them.
SFI vice-president Mr M. Nageshwar Rao too demanded a fresh test in the wake of doubts being raised on Sunday’s exam. Telangana Private Teachers’ Forum (TPTF) president, Mr Shabbir Ali, meanwhile, expressed his ire against the corporate colleges for indulging in unfair practices to score over their opponents.
Nearly 40,000 SSC students appeared for the first-phase of the test in over 250 centres in Telangana. Candidates who clear the test will have to appear for phase-2 to be conducted by CBSE in February. Meritorious candidates clearing both tests will be eligible for monthly scholarships for higher studies.
