CBSE re-exam dates next week; culprits face heat

NEW DELHI: Even as students, angry over the re-examination of the Class XII Economics and Class X Mathematics papers, took to Delhi streets shouting “stop playing hit and trial with our lives; it’s not the students who need a retest, it’s the system”, the Congress demanded that Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar and the CBSE board chairperson Anita Karwal be sacked and a probe be ordered by a High Court judge into the matter.

The CBSE is expected to announce the date of re-examination on Monday or Tuesday.  Meanwhile, the Delhi police has questioned 25 people, including 18 students and five tutors, in connection with the alleged leak, including the owner of a coaching centre in Rajender Nagar who is suspected to be behind the alleged leak. The HRD minister, who termed the paper leak issue “unfortunate”, said, “This (paper leak) has been a breach by the culprits and we will not let go any culprit scot-free. The police is on the job and I am very sure, they will nab the culprit as they have done in case of the SSC exam leak case. We have also instituted internal inquiry.” 

Amid protests over the paper leaks issue, Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the #BasEkAurSaal, a reference to the BJP government being left with one year of its term. Going into rhyme, Mr Gandhi tweeted, “How many leaks? Data leak! Aadhar leak! SSC Exam leak! Election date leak! CBSE papers leak! There is a leak in everything, the ‘chowkidar’ is weak.”  The BJP rejected Rahul Gandhi’s charge, saying the Congress president was referring to the UPA rule. Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Rahul Gandhi is remembering his days,” Many students claimed that almost all the papers had been leaked a day before the examinations and demanded that if reexamination is to be held, it should be held for all the subjects. 

Assuring that efforts are being made to make the examination system “fool-proof”, he could “understand the pain, anguish and frustrations” of students and parents. However Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, however, demanded that responsibility be fixed and the HRD minister and CBSE chairperson Anita Karwal be removed. Meanwhile, the office of the CBSE had received an unaddressed envelope on March 26 containing four sheets of handwritten answers of the Class 12 Economics paper.