Vijayawada: Leaks of the Summative - I (quarterly examination) question papers have become a big problem for the Andhra Pradesh School Education Department.
The State government, which faced severe criticism for leaks of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations and school final examination question papers, has had to contend with question paper leaks again in the quarterly examinations, which began on September 11, 2017. They got cancelled and postponed until the end of the Dasara holidays.
Question paper leaks are considered the biggest malpractice and a serious offence. Instances of question paper leaks have increased with the advancements in technology and accessibility of the internet, with social networking sites playing a key role in question paper leaks.
The Andhra Pradesh State Council of Education, Research & Training (APSCERT) after receiving a barrage of complaints over question paper leaks of the Summative-I examinations this year, has asked the School Education Commissioner to take a firm action.
In return, the Commissioner, K. Sandhya Rani, has canceled all examinations till September 11 and further postponed the rest. She also ordered District Education Officers to investigate with the help of Deputy Education Officers (DYEO).
Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao expressed anguish over the officials, for the question paper leaks and directed them to take a firm action against the teachers, head masters and Mandal Education Officers who were involved in the question paper leaks.
An inquiry was ordered by the Commissioner. This is causing many anxious moments to teachers across the state, as students of both private and government schools were involved in the paper leak.
“Question paper leaks of the quarterly high school examinations, are marring the image of the state government. The Depart-ment, which seemed to have forgotten how to control malpractices, have now started scurrying around in the name of ‘inquiry’ and ‘legal action’.
Corporate school managements were deceiving children and parents, by bluffing them with merit marks and paper leaks. The government, instead of taking stern action, had called an inquiry which took years,” said the Andhra Pradesh Teachers Federation, secretary, B. Hrudayaraj.
Meanwhile the School Education Department, is searching for alternative ways to control question paper leaks and is proposing to send soft copies of question papers, an hour before exams to schools through the internet.
