A committee formed to review the conduct of Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is seeking suggestions from some Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to make the system safe and prevent exam paper leaks of the kind that took place this year.
At its second meeting last week, the committee decided to approach the IITs, India’s premier engineering schools, for technology solutions, four people familiar with the development said on condition of anonymity.
The panel, headed by VS Oberoi, a former secretary of the ministry of human resource development (MHRD), and comprising seven others, was formed in April after the Class 10 mathematics and Class 12 economics papers leaked, which triggered criticism of the way the board held exams. A re-test was held for Class 12 students, but CBSE decided against one for Class 10.
The panel also suggested that an element of surprise be included in the proposed new system by introducing some changes every year. Apart from the IITs, the panel has tapped professionals from the information technology sector to suggest measures.
‘Some of the IITs have already responded and have suggested that the system should be changed every year to ensure it is difficult to crack. Some have also suggested a double encryption model (for question papers) that will make the entire examination process foolproof. The suggestions given by IITs will be discussed in the next meeting,’ one of the people cited above said.
The committee is also discussing putting in place a system that can make it easier to track the source of a leak and fix responsibility if one does take place.
‘CBSE has also suggested that the system used by it for its online competitive exams could also be adopted as there hasn’t been any instances of paper leak in those,’ said a second person familiar with the development. CBSE conducts competitive exams such as Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main, National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET and National Eligibility Test (NET).
The MHRD, which formed the panel, tasked it with reviewing all aspects related to security checks built in to the examination system to ensure that question papers reach the examinees without being tampered with. The panel was also asked to assess potential points of weakness in the present system of transporting question papers from the printing presses to the examination halls. ‘If human intervention is reduced and more technology is used to begin with, the system will become more efficient. For instance in case there is an instance of a leak in the physical process, it becomes difficult to track it,’ said an IIT director who did not wish to be named as the matter is confidential. ‘However, in case of computer or digital information, if anyone messes with it, it immediately gets recorded and hence can be tracked. Using technology, the entire system of transportation of papers, delivery of the paper till it reaches the centres can also be checked easily. There are various options available and each has to be analysed before selecting one.’ (HT)
