On Monday, March 21, 2016, Over 1.74 lakh students wrote the II Pre-University (PU) chemistry examination (new syllabus) across the State. The students received a jolt in the evening when it was announced that the >examination was cancelled by the Department of PU Education (DPUE) after the question paper was found to have been leaked. The exam was held at 975 centres across Karnataka.
Student whistleblower
Social media tools such as WhatsApp and Facebook, and email were extensively used to share the photo of the leaked II pre-university chemistry question paper. Photo shows students protesting decision to re-schedule exams Suspension
Following protests by students and parents, the state government handed over the investigation to the CID. Department officials refused to divulge details of the source of the leak. A press statement from the DPUE said the Chief Superintendents and Joint Superintendents of exam centres at SASM PU College for Women, Ballari, and Government PU College, Malur in Kolar district, were suspended with immediate effect.
A second leak
A re-exam was scheduled for Thursday, March 31. Unbelievably, the question papers for that exam too were leaked, leading to the authorities >cancelling the re-exam . 40 officials of the exam section of the Department of Pre-University Education were suspended with immediate effect.
Department sources told The Hindu that they were intimated about the question paper leak at 3.30 a.m. by CID officials. The CID officials reportedly said that the leak was detected in two places across the State. Three question papers that were doing the rounds were sent by the CID to the DPUE. One of the three papers sent had all the 36 questions of the original question paper.
A second re-exam
The second re-exam was scheduled for April 12, after widespread protests. Many student organisations and political parties joined the protests, with students even pelting stones at the department and damaging glass windows at DPUE.
The Legislative Assembly witnessed noisy scenes as Opposition members staged a dharna demanding the resignation of Mr. Ratnakar. Leader of the Opposition Jagadish Shettar held the Minister responsible for the question paper leak for the second time in less than 10 days.
Protests across the state
Angry students took to the streets across the State in protest after an embarrassed government cancelled the second Pre-University chemistry re-examination following another question paper leakage. Minister’s PA, two others arrested
Three men, including the personal assistant of Minister of State for Medical Education Sharanprakash R. Patil >were arrested on April 4 in connection with the case.
Of the arrested, Manjunath (47), a physical education teacher at The New Cambridge PU College, Vijayanagar, Bengaluru, whose wife is said to be an employee in the Department of Pre University Education (DPUE), sold the question paper on March 20, a day before the exam to various people, including Obalaraju (51), personal assistant to the Minister and whose child was to attend the chemistry exam the next day.
How the PU fiasco unfolded
March 21
Second pre university students write the Chemistry examination. Department of Pre-University Education announces that the examination stands cancelled as a student tipped off the Director of DPUE that the paper was being circulated prior to the exam.
March 31
The re-exam for the second PU Chemistry paper is also cancelled hours before the exam after they find out that the paper is leaked.
April 12
1.74 lakh students to appear for the Chemistry re-exam
