Assam Education Minister vows "Post-Mortem" of HSLC paper leak; promises "Fool-Proof" system for future

Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu on April 6 addressed the issue of the recent Class 10 board exam question paper leak, stating that the state government will conduct a “post-mortem” of the incident and work to create a more secure system for the distribution of exam papers to schools.

Pegu also emphasized that the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA), which is responsible for conducting the Class 10 exams, should not be held accountable for the leak as it was perpetrated by a “teacher”. The discussion on the “HSCL exam anomalies” was raised by the Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia of the Congress during the final day of the assembly’s budget session.

In response to the leak, the General Science, and Modern Indian Languages and English exams had to be rescheduled last month. The CID is currently investigating the case and has arrested several people, including two teachers who are believed to be the masterminds behind the leak.

Pegu stated that the SEBA follows a rigorous question paper setting procedure, where the printed question paper sets are delivered in sealed bundles to the board's office and then dispatched to different police stations. Once the bundles reach the police stations, it becomes the responsibility of the police and the exam center in-charges to ensure that no tampering takes place.

While acknowledging that there were problems in the question paper distribution process, Pegu urged members of the House to share their suggestions with his department. “It becomes difficult when teachers get involved in such acts. We will take steps to ensure a fool-proof question paper distribution system,” he said. The minister also stated that they will conduct a post-mortem of the case to identify any loopholes and take necessary actions to correct them.

Pegu further refuted opposition allegations that paper leaks were common for SEBA and claimed that the last such instance was in 2006. “There have been 70 cases of question paper leak in the country in the last 10 years. This year’s incident has been the only one in our state,” he said.

In the discussion, Saikia questioned the status of the recommended reforms for SEBA, and he also alleged that the state government fails to take follow-up action on the assurances given in the assembly when such incidents occur. Meanwhile, CPI(M) MLA Manoranjan Talukdar stated that SEBA cannot be absolved of any responsibility for the fiasco and demanded the removal of its chairman, controller of examination, and secretary for a free and fair probe.