Alternate set of question papers could have checked leaks: Ex-CBSE officials

Former CBSE chairman Ashok Ganguly today lashed out at the board for "inept handling"of the CBSE paper leak issue, contending that the introduction of one set of question paper from this year did more harm than good both for the students as well as the board.

Delhi University professor J L Gupta, closely associated with the CBSE examination till recently, was also critical of the functioning of the board, observing that "alternate set of question papers" could have saved the board from the present crisis.

The anger was palpable as both felt the board needs to be more competent as "complacency" has crept into its functioning.

"When you are handling an examination of this magnitude, you should have a Plan B and Plan C ready. The leakages and the delay in announcing the dates of the re-examination of two papers show there was no such plans in place," Ganguly, who headed the board for eight years till 2008, told PTI.

Prof Gupta, currently a member of the Delhi University Court, said the CBSE need to prepare alternate set of question paper to effectively handle such situations.

Recalling an incident earlier where he was an observer to an entrance test, Gupta said, alternate question papers saved the test from being cancelled as the organisers acted swiftly, following reports of leakage.

This year, over 28 lakh CBSE students are appearing for Class 10 and Class 12 board exams, about 57,000 more than last year.

Therefore, with more students and examination centres being added each year, there was a need to conduct proper checks and balances of the centres and banks used for storing the question papers.

"However, I doubt if CBSE has verified their credentials," Ganguly said.

He felt that the age-old system of setting multiple set of questions for different zones should not have been discarded, especially when the examinations are conducted off-line.

"During my period, our system was praised even abroad. The experts used to sit late into the night in preparing the questions papers. The job was difficult and we succeeded," he said.

The CBSE, from this year, had issued composite question paper for all the regions, thus putting all the regions vulnerable to the leaks even if the leakage is reported from one region.

The exam board has announced a retest of the Class 10 mathematics and Class 12 economics papers after reports that they were leaked.