Govt panel says SSC questions leaked, recommends test retaking

A government panel says it has found that the questions of the school-leaving SSC and equivalent exam have leaked and plans to file recommendations for retakes in some cases.

The panel headed by Technical and Madrasa Education Secretary Md Alamgir studied the alleged leaks.

Speaking to the media in his offices on Sunday, he said the questions of a subject completely leaked and several others partially.

Alamgir said the panel would recommend retakes for the tests whose questions completely leaked. But it will not recommend retakes for partially leaked questions.

“If only the MCQ parts have leaked, then the written tests will not be retaken.”

If the questions have leaked an hour or two before the tests or the day before, the exams will be retaken, according to Alamgir.

The education official made it clear that they were in not in favour of scrapping the tests whose questions have leaked just before the exams.

“It’s the ministry’s call. We can only recommend,” said Alamgir.

Despite adopting a series of measures, the government has failed to plug question leaks in public exams.

Following leaks of question papers of eighth and fifth graders last year, the education ministry took several steps, including making it mandatory for students to enter the centres half an hour before the tests and arrest anyone carrying a smartphone within 200 metres of exam halls.

But all efforts failed as questions of almost every subject of this year’s SSC exams leaked on the social media hours before the tests.

Question of public exams had been leaked in the past years, but the government denied.

After this year’s massive leaks on the social media ahead of the tests, the government formed an 11-member panel with representatives from the Cabinet Division, ministries of home and public administration, police, telecoms regulator and education boards.

The panel will file its findings on Feb 26 after meeting again on Feb 25, when the theoretical tests end, said Alamgir.

“We will analyse who were involved in the leaks and when, and how many questions leaked on Feb 25.”

Law-enforcers are also providing inputs, he said. “Several people have been arrested and being interrogated by them.”

After the panel’s meeting on Feb 11, Alamgir told the media that 300 mobile phone connections, which had been used to circulate leaked questions, have been blocked and raids were launched to arrest the owners.

About 70 people have been arrested across the country and law-enforcers are tracing more mobile phone connections used to leak questions almost every day, he said on Sunday.