SSC exam paper gets leaked on social media

Before the formal beginning of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Annual Examination 2021 started on Monday, the first question paper of Physics leaked on WhatsApp groups and later the paper was widely spread on other social media websites.

Also, the Center Control Officers and invigilators couldn’t ensure timely delivery of question papers to several examinations centers. Over the administrative negligence,   the board officials have suspended a number of examiners posted at various centers.

On Friday, however, the BSEK Chairman Syed Sharaf Ali Shah through the district administration had forwarded a letter to the law enforcement agencies to enforce section 144 on all the examination centers so that external interference could be avoided. Also, the shops where photo-state machines operate would remain closed during the exam hours.

In spite of such arrangement made by the board officials, but soon after the starting time of exams, the leaked was available at the photo state shops located nearby the centers. Mismanagement not only observed during the exam hours, but candidates also registered hundreds of complaints about the late delivery of question papers at the exam centers.

These centers were included Government Girls Secondary School No 1, Korangi, Mariya Model Shah Faisal Colony, Ideal Public Secondary School Safora Chowrangi, Government Girls Secondary School Sachal Goth, and several others. However, responding to the reports, the BSEK spokesperson said that Controller Examination Syed Mohammad Ali Shaiq has directed the center superintendent and CCOs of all examination centers to give extra time to the students where papers were distributed late.

At present, a total number of 348249 candidates would attempt the SSC Annual Exams 2021 while the total number of examination centers is 438 in which 201 centers have been set up for female students and 237 centers for male students across the city.

Minister’s reaction

After the emergence of reports on mainstream and social media about leaked paper, the Provincial Education Minister Saeed Ghani while replying to a Twitter user Nadia Mirza said; “I m looking into the matter but FYI Educational Boards are not under my control. I have Schools & Colleges Departments.”

Later his media coordinator issued a short statement, in which the minister has stated that there were reports of the late delivery of question papers at some examination centers on the first day of matriculation examinations.“Although Boards don’t come under my ministry, I am looking into the matter. Schools and colleges come under the control of education ministry, boards and universities do not.”

The minister, however, stated that he has obtained information from the BSEK chairman and controller examinations about the late delivery of papers. “They have been told to deliver the papers to the examination centers in time”.

Advisor to CM on Board and Universities

Meanwhile, Advisor to CM on Board and Universities Nisar Ahmed Khurho in a statement has said that the Universities and Boards Department has taken notice of the late delivery of questions papers at various examination centers.

While expressing anger over the BSEK chairman and controller examinations, Khurho asked why the paper was delivered late on the first day of the exam. The chairman is responsible for administrative negligence. They should have made proper arrangements for the timely delivery of question papers.

He asked the BSEK chairman and controller examination to explain their positions why they have shown administrative negligence by not delivering the papers on time at the examination centers. “I will not tolerate the process of the late arrival of papers at examination centers,” the advisor in his statement has said.

“An immediate investigation has been carried out into the issue, after which the board officials have suspended several CCOs posted at various examination centers,” the statement reads.

Concerns of private schools

While expressing concerns over the mismanagement observed on the first day of SSC Annual Exams 2021, the All Private Schools Management Association Sindh Chairman Syed Tariq Shah said that the incompetent staffers of the BSEK have put the academic reputation of thousands of students at stake. According to Shah, the two-hour paper started at least two hours late in one center and two and a half hours late in another.

He said that in compli9ance with the NCOC decision the steering committee of the School Education and Literacy Department in its meetings had decided to reduce the syllabus. The decision was taken because the provincial education minister had made annual exams mandatory for students. Later the board chairmen also reduced exam duration for each paper to two hours. However, this easy task was done in a bad manner making the exam process a joke.

Shah said; “We strongly condemn this irresponsible behavior of the BSEK officials and demand departmental action against those who were responsible for administrative mismanagement”

Political view    

The Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman in a statement has condemned the disarray observed in the SSC Annual Exams 2021. He said that tall claims of the Sindh government regarding conducting transparent examinations have fallen flat.

The education system and quality of education in Sindh is almost on the verge of collapse. If PPP-led provincial government can’t conduct proper exams for ninth and tenth grades, then how would it solve big problems, he asked.