An hour after the commencement of the annual High School Certificate (HSC) examination conducted by the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), the question paper for the first day was reportedly leaked on social media.
The MIL (Odia) question paper surfaced on WhatsApp in Nuapada and Dhenkanal districts just after the students appeared in the exam at 10 am.
However, the School & Mass Education Minister Badri Narayan Patra denied the allegation. He said the mobile phones are completely prohibited at the examination centres and the question papers have been kept in tight security at the nodal centres.
BSE President Jahan Ara Begum also refuted the report, saying the question papers went viral after the examination.
“As the first part of the exam had already ended and the question paper went viral on social media after exam, we cannot term it as ‘leak’,” she told media.
“This incidence will not have any effect on conducting the examination because the students had entered into the exam halls at 9 am. The question papers were leaked after the exam,” Begum emphasised.
“We made tight security arrangements for the smooth conduct of the examination. The mobile phone was completely banned. Despite it, if anyone is found guilty of violating the instructions, disciplinary action will be taken against him after the probe,” she added.
She appealed to the parents and students not to panic over the “leaked” question papers.
This year, a total of 5,72,699 students are appearing in the examination at 2,830 centres.
Notably, 304 nodal centres have been set up across the State for the BSE Matric examination. The authorities have formed 693 despatch teams to transfer the question papers from nodal centres to the exam centres.
A special squad under the supervision of district Collectors, 58 district-level squads and 44 BSE squads have been formed to curb malpractice during the examination. The Collectors and SPs have been instructed to ensure smooth conduct of the exam across the State.