Students appearing for their Class X and Class XII Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Board examinations as well as student organisations like the National Students Union of India (NSUI) held protests in the Capital against the CBSE paper being leaked . They called for the resignation of CBSE chairman Anita Karwal and accused the board of negligence.
The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) protested at Udyog Bhawan and tried to march towards Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar’s residence but were stopped by the police. NSUI representatives were, however, taken to meet Mr. Javadekar.
Minister gives assurance
Union president Fairoz Khan said that he met the Minister and was assured that they would investigate the matter and take the strictest possible action against those responsible.
The NSUI demanded that an inquiry into the CBSE paper leak should be conducted by retired judges and that the Minister should ensure a leak-proof mechanism to restore faith in the CBSE.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) also met Mr. Javadekar and called for a re-examination across the country since the paper is the same and the leak may have been transmitted by digital means as well.
Other papers’ leak
Students protesting outside the CBSE Headquatrers at Preet Vihar alleged that although the CBSE has admitted that there had been a paper leak in only two papers, they had proof that several other papers were also doing the rounds on WhatsApp before the start of the examination.
Competitive exams
Several students said that because of the re-examination, they had to put on hold several travel plans as well as delay the preparation for several competitive examinations they were scheduled to start preparing for.
He said that they were being made to suffer due to a mistake by the CBSE and that the Board was playing with their future by announcing a re-examination.
In a petition to the CBSE to cancel the re-examination on the platform change.org, students have said, “We think that everyone should not be penalised for a handful of students’ atrocities. Many students have other plans for other events and some students’ families are looking to migrate from one place to another and have already begun their packing hence, it makes it impossible for them to write their exam.”
The petition has been signed by over 30,000 people.
Congress joins the protest
The Congress’ Delhi wing, DPCC, shouted slogans outside the CBSE headquarters, demanding an independent investigation into the issue.
Earlier in the day, scores of students also demonstrated outside the CBSE headquarters, asking for an early resolution to their problems.
The CBSE announced a retest of the two papers earlier this week following reports that the papers were leaked.
(With inputs from PTI)
