Reports of alleged leakage of papers in 4 educational boards: Minister vows to ensure transparency in ongoing matriculation exams

PESHAWAR: Amid widespread reports of alleged paper leakage in four out of eight educational boards under which secondary schools certificate examinations are in progress, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Faisal Khan Tarakai on Tuesday declared that the provincial government would ensure transparency and fair-play in the ongoing matriculation examinations.

There are reports that several papers in four out of the total eight boards of intermediate and secondary education were leaked hours before the starting time of the said papers.

The boards where papers were reportedly leaked included the Mardan, Malakand, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan.The reports had gone viral on social media since the day one of the exam. But the authorities were the least bothered to take any action.

According to sources, the papers in these boards would leak an evening before the paper date. Certain influential school chains and some officials of the boards were involved in the practice, the sources added.

“The students of these schools, mostly owned by some top leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) which has been ruling the province for the past 11 years, get the paper a night before the date of the paper, especially in Mardan,” a top official told The News.

Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Mardan Chairman Farid Khattak, however, rejected the reports. He said that whatever was circulated on social media and in the open market was fake.

“The paper distributed among students the next morning is different from what circulated to students an evening earlier,” he insisted.This reporter tallied several of the “leaked papers” of grade 9 with the ones distributed in the examination halls in the Mardan board and found them exactly the same.

Still, the chairman of the board was adamant that the reports were baseless and certain vested elements with vested interest and “blackmailers” were circulating those reports for personal gain.

“I request them to avoid spreading negativity and promote positivity in society. The board has taken certain drastic steps for ensuring transparency, initiating online exams and digitization, which need to be promoted instead of negative things,” he argued.

Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Faisal Tarakai during his presser confirmed that they had received complaints about paper leakage based on which some 12 officials were identified to have been involved in the practice and they were suspended and inquiry initiated.

He added that the examination halls where paper leakage was reported would be banned completely. However, the minister did not explain the leakage beyond the examination halls.The sources said that the paper that comes out of the examination hall after the commencement of the paper should not be deemed a paper leakage even if it happens within minutes.

But the one leaked several hours before the starting time of the paper is the actual leakage and this is what has been happening during the exam.

Certain people - officials and private persons - were involved in the heinous practice only to mint money and act against the younger generation at an important point of their lives at a very early stage, said an official.

The minister added that transparency was ensured in overall exams in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “We are 90 percent more transparent than the other provinces of the country,” he said, adding that the situation here was satisfactory.

He claimed that most of the papers circulated on social media were fake. Still, inquiries have been initiated based on complaints in the Mardan, Malakand, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan boards and those found guilty would be dealt with sternly as per the law.

He went on to claim that 98 percent out of the 24,000 supervisory staff was performing excellent duty, while the Education Department had also taken commendable steps to ensure transparency in the ongoing exam.

“We are taking SLO [Student Learning Outcomes] based exams. My team and I are monitoring the examination process across the province. We have prepared a plan for the upcoming intermediate exams to ensure merit and transparency,” he said.