Question papers for the ongoing common half-yearly examinations for State board and matriculation schools across Tamil Nadu for various classes, particularly Class XII, are allegedly being leaked through mobile messaging platforms like WhatsApp.
When a security breach was reported last week at a government-aided school in Devakottai, Sivaganga district — one of the designated custodian points for storing question papers — officials claimed the leak was plugged.
Enquiries with officials from the School Education Department (SED) revealed they were unsure about the source of the widespread leaks and no action, like postponing the exams or modifying question papers, had been taken.
A student of Class XII from a matriculation school in Madurai city said he and his classmates received entire question papers for Mathematics and Computer Science examinations that happened last week on WhatsApp. “Most of my friends came well prepared. The actual question papers we got were exactly the same as we received in WhatsApp,” he said.
Another student of Class XII from a different matriculation school in Madurai said: “We are not receiving all question papers at once. The papers are leaked just a day or two before a particular exam. Physics examination is on Monday. I received a copy on WhatsApp yesterday (Saturday).”
A teacher running a tuition centre in the city claimed that the leak happened for Class X and XI as well. “Most of my students had the question papers in advance,” he said.
Acknowledging that a breach was reported in N.S.M.V.P.S Higher Secondary School in Devakottai, A. Palumuthu, Chief Educational Officer (CEO), Sivaganga, said no physical copies of question papers, however, were leaked. He said further investigations were being held by the police. “We have asked all custodian points to install surveillance cameras and ensure round-the-clock security,” he added.
Case registered
T. Jayachandran, Superintendent of Police, Sivaganga, said that a case had been registered and few students were being enquired. “Question papers of only Tamil and English subjects were there on the day of the incident. We recovered the physical copies that were taken out. Our enquiry so far had shown that nobody took pictures. Circulation of papers on WhatApp, particularly for other subjects, cannot be related to this incident,” he said. M.K.C. Subashini, CEO, Madurai, said senior officials from the SED had been informed about the alleged leaks and a decision on postponement or modification of question papers must be taken at the State-level.
V.C. Rameswara Murugan, Director of School Education, could not be reached for a comment.
