Will develop a fool-proof system, but paper leaks happen nationwide: Assam Education Minister

Guwahati, April 6 (IANS) The state government would conduct a "post-mortem" on the Class 10 board exam question paper leak, Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said on Thursday, adding that the department will develop a "fool-proof" procedure for distributing the papers to schools.

In his response to a discussion in the Assembly on the issue, he insisted that the paper leak was caused by a "teacher," not by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA), which oversees the Class 10 exams.

Pegu denied opposition claims that there were regular paper leaks, asserting that the most recent occurrence occurred in 2006.

"In the past ten years, there have been 70 instances of question paper leaks nationwide. The occurrence this year has been the sole one in our state," he claimed.

Following the leak of question papers in recently concluded two subjects in Class 10 board examination, the SEBA had to reschedule both the examinations.

On Thursday, Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia, moved a discussion in the assembly on 'Class 10 exam irregularities'.

He alleged that when similar instances happen, the state government does not follow through on the promises made in the Assembly.

The CID, which is looking into the matter, has detained a number of people, with two teachers, who have been named as the masterminds, now in its crosshairs.

Saikia claimed that several committees have throughout the years suggested reforms for SEBA and asking what had become of those recommendations.

In response, Pegu said: "The SEBA adheres to a perfect process for creating question papers. The sealed bundles containing the printed test sets are transported to this office, where they are then distributed to various police stations."

"After the bundles arrive at the police stations, it is the duty of the police and the in-charges of the exam centres to make sure that no tampering occurs. In this case, the SEBA cannot be held accountable."

The minister also asked the members of the House to share their suggestions with the Education Department although acknowledging that there were issues with the distribution of question papers as demonstrated by this year's situation.

"When teachers get involved in such malpractices, it becomes challenging. We would take action to establish a reliable mechanism for distributing test questions. However, we will conduct a post-mortem of the case and take steps to close all loopholes," he assured the house.