Move to shuffle SSLC chief examiners raises hackles

To ensure more transparency and avoid malpractices during the SSLC examination, the school education department is discussing the possibility of shuffling the chief examiners of exam centres.

Although there is no official word on whether such a measure would be implemented, it has got heads of various institutions who have been serving as chief examiners worried over the implications of the move.

The chief examiner is the head of an institution that is used as an exam centre and he/she is responsible for the conduct of the examination in that centre.

M N Chandre Gowda, secretary, Karnataka State Headmasters Association, said: “We had a discussion on the matter with the director of secondary education and SSLC Board.

Such a measure has never been taken before. We told them that a huge problem will be created as a result of the move. There are as many as 3,000 exam centres throughout the state and shuffling the chief examiners would create a problem of cooperation within the institution and may hamper the exam,” he said.

The head of a school that has been regularly used as an exam centre, said:  “It is not useful to have a chief examiner from one centre go to another. People in that particular centre will not cooperate freely and there is a possibility that there would not be a systematic conduct of the examination. It is better to drop the entire idea. There are certain measures that have already been taken to ensure transparency such as not having own school teachers for invigilation,” he said.

He, however, said that although there were fears of such a move coming to pass, it was discussed at a recent meeting between various heads of the KSEEB and DPI.

K S Sathyamurthy, Commissioner, Department of Public Instruction did not comment on the issue while Yashoda Bopanna, director, Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) could not be reached despite repeated attempts.