E-Paper
Sarma calls exam paper leak his govt’s failure
Student organisations have been protesting across Assam demanding the resignation of education minister Ranoj Pegu and exam board chairman RC Jain
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday accepted the leak of the science question paper of the ongoing Class 10 state board exams was his government’s failure.
“...it shows our failure in some way and as the chief minister I accept responsibility for that,” Sarma told the assembly after the budget presentation. He said an exam centre in charge of a school and three teachers were involved in the leak. He said the main accused have been identified and will be arrested soon.
He urged the state examination board to take measures to avoid such leaks. Sarma appealed to students to study with new zeal and assured them the government would take care of them.
“The Assam Police have been able to crack the case within 48 hours. We will ensure the accused get stringent punishment. I am not disclosing their names since it may affect the investigation. I appeal to those involved to surrender.”
He said no links have been established yet to confirm the board officials were responsible for the leak. He said the leak was restricted to four districts and question papers were sold for anywhere between ₹200 to ₹6000 each and circulated via social media.
Sarma said the question papers of other subjects may also have been leaked before the matter came to light.
Assam Police chief GP Singh earlier on Thursday cited the investigation and added it showed the leaked paper got circulated through WhatsApp. “...we have asked WhatsApp to provide us with information.”
He said the money was transacted through 4-5 online wallets. “We have asked authorities of these wallets to provide us with information on these transactions. We expect to arrest the accused, who are on the run.”
Till Wednesday, 25 people including 12 students and four government employees were arrested for their alleged involvement in the case.
The science exam was rescheduled for March 30 after the leak. It was earlier scheduled on March 13.
Student organisations have been protesting across Assam demanding the resignation of education minister Ranoj Pegu and exam board chairman RC Jain.
