Assam: All Class 11 state board exams cancelled after paper leak

Guwahati: All examinations of Class 11 of the Assam state board from March 24 to 29, comprising 36 subjects, have been cancelled following reports of several paper leaks at different places, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said.

Earlier, the Higher Secondary first year Mathematics paper, scheduled on March 21, of the Assam State School Education Board (ASSEB) was leaked, forcing the authorities to cancel the examinations and lodge a police complaint.

The Higher Secondary first year or Class 11 examinations began on March 6 and were scheduled to continue till March 29.

"Due to reports of question paper leak and breach of protocol, the remaining subjects of HS First Year Examination 2025 (scheduled from March 24-29) stand cancelled," Pegu said in a post on X.

Sharing the official order by ASSEB, he said further action regarding the new schedule of the examinations will be decided in the board meeting on Monday.

In another post, the minister said the Mathematics paper was leaked after 18 schools, including three government institutes, across the state broke the security seal a day before the scheduled examination.

"Assam State School Education Board (ASSEB) has suspended the affiliation of 15 private schools across 10 districts for breaking the seal of Class 11 Mathematics question papers before the scheduled time, leading to a leak.

"The state government will also take action against three other schools for violating the rules in a similar manner," he added.

Police complaints will be lodged and these schools have been barred from admitting Class 11 students for the 2025-26 academic year, Pegu said.

According to the ASSEB order issued by Controller of Examinations (in-charge) Ranjan Kumar Das, all inspectors of schools and principals of lead colleges had received back the sealed packets of Mathematics question paper following its cancellation.

"...from their reports it is seen that some of the institutions had opened the sealed packets of question paper on 20/03/2025, whereas the examination was scheduled to be held in the second session of 21/03/2025.

"...it is presumed that leakage of question papers in the rest of the examination cannot be ruled out, as all the question papers of remaining subjects are in the custody of each institution of Assam where examination is being held," it added.

Therefore, all the remaining subjects of HS First Year examination from March 24 to March 29 have been cancelled, Das said in the order.

Das told PTI that an FIR has been lodged at CID Headquarters in Guwahati, while 18 other cases will be filed at respective police stations against the educational institutions.

"Out of the 18 centres, we believe that not all have leaked the papers. Probably only one or two centres leaked the papers and those went viral on social media. The culprits will be found after a detailed probe by the police," he added.

Last week, the Class 9 English annual exam in Assam's Barpeta district was cancelled after the question paper leaked on social media.