Nellore: Question papers of the half-yearly exams for students of Classes VI to X, which were supplied by the Education Department as part of the continuous comprehensive evaluation (CCE) system introduced this academic year, were leaked a day before the exam, eliciting the ire of parents and teachers alike.
Parents say that students, especially those of Classes X and IX, had been devoting their attention to try and secure the leaked papers in exchange for money, instead of concentrating on their studies. These exams account for 20 marks which will be added to the students’ public exam score.
Stressing that the CCE is a commendable system, N. Manimala, the principal of a corporate school, said that the purpose of evaluation had been defeated by the papers leak. She expressed concern at the situation, saying that students from affluent families were exchanging leaked question papers via WhatsApp.
She said that even intelligent and hardworking students had resorted to trying to procure the paper so that they could only prepare for the questions in the paper. She said they had threatened to change the question papers, in order to dissuade students from depending on leaked papers; but their threats had no impact.
District Education Officer M. Ramalingam, had set up distribution centres in Nellore city, and made high schools collect the question papers only an hour before the exam, during quarterly exams. He extended the same practice to other towns and mandal headquarters during the half yearly tests.
He also made sure that external examiners from government schools was posted at each of the 734 high schools, including private schools, and that question paper bundles were only opened in their presence.
Unfortunately, all of these measures amounted to nothing, as leaked question papers continued to reach students via WhatsApp. Since there is no uniform system across the state for the regulation and distribution of question papers, they were released to schools the day before the exam in many places; and those with vested interests leaked questions to their students, which were then circulated across the state.
Mr Ramalingam blamed two popular corporate schools which have branches all over the state, for the leak. He said that they had indulged in this malpractice to ensure that students from their institutions secured those 20 marks. He added that the same schools had managed to obtain National Talent Search Scheme last year. “We have brought the issue to the notice of higher authorities in the Education Department. We will put an end to the menace by systemising the entire process,” he said.
