MHRD forms Panel for Examinations Oversight

In the wake of question paper leaks in the CBSE Class X and XII exams, the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development on (MHRD) on Wednesday formed a High Powered Committee to suggest ways to make examinations leak-proof.

The seven-member High Power Committee, headed by Vinay Sheel Oberoi, Retd. Secretary (Higher Education), will examine the process adopted by the CBSE to conduct examinations.

Earlier, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar had expressed concern over the leak of CBSE question papers and said the government will be putting in place a ‘new mechanism’ from April 2 to ensure ‘leak proof’ arrangement for the examination.

The committee will have former CBSE Controller of Examinations and Secretary Uttar Pradesh Examination Board Pavnesh Kumar, former NCERT Director and NCTE chairman JS Rajput, former Vice-Chancellor of SNDT Women’s University Vasudha Kamat, and former Director of Education Krishna Mohan Tripathy as its members. The committee will submit its report by May 31.

As part of its responsibility, the committee will check all aspects related to the security built into the system for ensuring that the question papers reach the examinees without tampering. It will also examine and assess all areas of potential weakness in the present system of transporting question papers from the printing press to the examinees. The committee will suggest ways in which the system can be made more secure with the use of technology and minimization of human intervention.

According to reports, the MHRD has announced the re-examination of the CBSE Class XII Economics paper on April 25 but said that there will be no re-examination for Class X Maths paper.

“Consequent to the preliminary evaluation of the impact of reportedly leaked CBSE Class X Maths paper and keeping in mind the paramount interest of students, the CBSE has decided not to conduct re-examination even in the states of Delhi, NCR and Haryana,” education secretary Anil Swarup said.

The Supreme Court, however, on Wednesday refused to interfere with the decision of the CBSE to re-conduct the Class XII Economics examination.

Three people, including two teachers of a private school, were arrested by the Delhi Police on Sunday for their suspected roles in the question paper leak.

The examinations for the Class X Mathematics and Class XII Economics examinations were held on March 26 and 28, respectively.