Chemistry paper leaks again; re-exam on 12th

The second year PU Chemistry re-examination that was scheduled to take place on Thursday, following question paper leak on March 21, was cancelled after the question paper was leaked again. A fresh re-examination will now be held on April 12.

The Department of Pre University Education (DPUE) cancelled the re-exam after confirming that all the 37 questions in the leaked question paper were identical to those in the revised question paper that was to be issued to the students on Thursday. The DPUE was alerted about the leak by the CID.

The CID’s constant interaction with the PU students helped it to get credible information about the leak of the re-examination question paper. The CID sleuths were alerted around 3 am on Thursday, six hours before the commencement of the examination. They in turn informed the DPUE.

CID teams probing the March 21 question paper leak were in touch with several students and parents. They were gathering information on the March 21 question paper which was in circulation on WhatsApp. “In the wee hours of Thursday, some students alerted us about a WhatsApp post, which claimed to be a snapshot of the question paper set for the re-examination. Immediately, the message was shared with the DPUE officials.

The strong room committees, across 187 centres in the state, were told not to open the Chemistry question paper bundles,'' a CID official said. One question paper bundle at an exam centre in Bengaluru was opened to verify if the questions matched the leaked version. “It was found that all the 37 questions in the leaked question paper matched word by word. The question paper bundles could have been breached at any of the 187 strong rooms, and posted on WhatsApp,'' the official added.

A DPUE official said the paper leak and cancellation of the re-exam was officially made public at 7 am. After the re-exam was cancelled, scores of agitated students and parents staged a protest in front of the office of DPUE in Malleswaram, leading to some emotional scenes.  Owing to the Chemistry re-exam being put off again, the revaluation and declaration of results were bound to be delayed, a DPUE official said.

“Had the old time table been followed with the exams ending on March 28, the results would have been declared in the first week of May. Now there will be a delay of 7-10 days,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Government has constituted a three-member committee to oversee the conduct of the re-examination on April 12. Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education Kimmane Rathnakar announced in the Legislative Assembly that the committee headed by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Project Director P C Jaffer will include Transport Commissioner Ramegowda, who is a former DPUE director.
DH News Service

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