The Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) decision to hold re-examination of Class 10 Mathematics and Class 12 Economics papers due to a question paper leak sparked reactions from politicians and students.

Students here took to the streets today to protest the decision and the Congress demanded that Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar and the board chairperson be sacked.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, “How many leaks? Data leak! Aadhar leak! SSC Exam leak! Election date leak! CBSE papers leak! There is a leak in everything, the ‘chowkidar’ is weak.” Gandhi, even used a hashtag— #BasEkAurSaal — a reference to the last year in this government’s five year term.

 

The BJP rejected Rahul Gandhi’s charge, saying the Congress president was referring to the UPA rule. “Rahul Gandhi is remembering his days,” Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a Cabinet briefing.

 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanded strict action against people involved in the alleged leak of CBSE examination papers. “I really feel sorry and sad for the students who have to give their exams again for no fault of theirs. Responsibility should be fixed and strict action should be taken against those responsible (sic),” Kejriwal tweeted.

Sack the minister

“Time to fix accountability and sack HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar and CBSE Chairperson Anita Karwal,” Congress Communications in-charge, Randeep Surjewala, told reporters.

Addressing a press conference, he said it is “shocking and heart rendering” that the future of 24 lakh students is in “severe jeopardy” as the government officially admits that two papers of CBSE Class 10 and 12 were leaked. “This has exposed the capture of highest academic institutions by the ‘Exam Mafia’ under the watch of Modi Government, as also absolute abdication of authority by the HRD Minister and the CBSE Chairperson,” he said.

Javadekar, however, put up a brave and said the culprits will not go scot-free. He termed the issue as unfortunate. He said that the CBSE will declare the date of re-examination probably on Monday or Tuesday. “This (paper leak) has been a breach by the culprits and we will not let go any culprit scot-free. The police is on the job and I am very sure, they will nab the culprit as they have done in case of the SSC exam leak case. We have also instituted internal inquiry,” he told reporters here.

Case probed

The Delhi Police, which had registered two cases in connection with the leaks, started questioning the owner of a coaching centre in Rajender Nagar whose name was shared by the CBSE in its complaint and is suspected to be behind the alleged leak.

The office of the CBSE had received an unaddressed envelope on March 26 containing four sheets of handwritten answers of the Class 12 Economics paper, the board said in its complaint to the Delhi Police.

In its complaint to the police, the Board has said that they received a complaint by fax on March 23 from an “unknown source” that a man running a coaching institute in Rajinder Nagar was involved in paper leakage.

Students protest

Meanwhile, cries of ‘we want justice’ resonated at Jantar Mantar as students gathered there this morning to protest the re-examination of Class 10 Mathematics and Class 12 Economics papers.

Holding placards and shouting slogans such as ‘Stop playing hit and trial with our lives’ and ‘It’s not the students who need a re-test, it’s the system’, students rued how they have been left “traumatised” after hearing the news of re-examination. Many of the students claimed that almost all the papers were leaked a day before the examinations, and demanded that if a re-examination is to be held, it should be held of all the subjects.

Bhavika Yadav, a Class 10 student of St Thomas School, said, “We were shocked after hearing the news of the re-examination. Why should we suffer just because a handful of students got the leaked paper before the examination?”

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