The shameful leaking of HSC papers for the third year in a row has exposed how the state board is a sitting duck. For unlike other boards, it insists on sending hard copies of question papers days prior to exam and has no alternative set in case of malpractice
Illustration/Uday Mohite
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The shameful leaking of HSC question papers for the third year in a row has exposed how the state board is simply a sitting duck. And, it has only itself to blame. Unlike other education boards, Maharashtra has neither boarded the digitisation wagon nor has a Plan B in place in case of malpractice.
Most leaks occur when hard copies of question papers are sent from the board's various divisional sections to centres several days prior to the examinations. To plug this, the board should ideally send copies right before examinations or email soft copies of question papers, which would then be printed by centres around 30 minutes prior to the examinations. It should also keep different sets of question papers in hand in case of a leak.
The Secretarial Practice question paper started doing the rounds on WhatsApp
They've done it
The state board could take a leaf out of the Indian School Education Certificate (ICSE) and the Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) security measures.
Gerry Arathoon, chief executive officer of ICSE, said transportation of question papers to examination centres is strictly monitored. “Since this is not foolproof, the board administration keeps different sets of question papers in hand in case of malpractices.'
A senior CBSE official said that question papers are taken by schools from bank vaults right before an examination. “Also, there are different sets of question papers distributed across the country.”
The University of Mumbai, which has a past chequered with malpractices, has incorporated a tech interface into its security plan. “We send question papers online to centres right before examinations. Besides, if there a leak, the question paper can be instantly replaced by another set,” said Dr MA Khan, registrar of University of Mumbai.
Pictures of the leaked Marathi paper that was circulated over WhatsApp
He said the university also watermarks the names of colleges on question papers to locate the source of leak, if any. “We know exactly which college to crack down on.”
No feasible: State board
The state board, however, says there isn't enough infrastructural support to roll out such plans, especially in rural areas of Mahrashtra.
Gangadhar Mamhane, chairman of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and higher Secondary Education, said, “Other boards may be able to use technology to conduct their examinations since most of their schools are in urban areas. The state board has schools in the remotest of locations, where even electricity is a luxury.”
He also pointed out that sending question papers online is not feasible since a set often runs into four to 10 pages. “Centres will not be able to print so many question papers at a go right before an examination.”
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