Go digital to plug paper leak: Experts

Bengaluru: Even though the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has denied Class 12 Accountancy paper leak, the security regarding examinations and evaluation among stakeholders of school education has become a major concern, especially during this exam season. Providing secure and authentic on-time question papers is an effective method technology can contribute as a solution to this menace.

“Digitising the entire process until it reaches the student is the most effective way out of such confusions and controversies,” said M. Srinivasan, president of the Managements of Independent CBSE Schools Association (MICSA).

Vulnerabilities arise when question papers are printed in advance. From printing to packing and sending it across to centres, the papers pass through many 
hands and those are the most vulnerable points, he added.

Corroborating his views and adding a technological scoop to the issue, Nagendran Sundararajan, Executive Vice President of MeritTrac, a testing and assessments firm said that the usage of Just-in-Time Question Paper (JIT-QP) would be an apt solution.

“JIT-QP ensures that the final Question Paper is decided randomly from a set of questions based on pre-defined rules or a set of Question Papers,” he said. This would enable conducting exams in a secure manner right from the phase of question paper development, printing, logistics and storage before it reaches the test taker.

The final question paper is selected and made available at the exam centre in an encrypted mode just few hours before the exam. The authorised personnel will decrypt the Question Paper and get it securely printed by authorised representatives in a secure zone at the test centre. This ensures that the final question paper is available, even to the authorized personnel, only a few minutes before the examination for distribution to the Invigilators and then to the test takers,” explained  Sundararajan.