Amid reports of CBSE 'paper leak', Pune students worry about re-test:'It's not fair'

As news of the alleged leak of CBSE’s Class XII exam Accountancy paper, held on Thursday, spread across social media, it led to panic among students, parents and even tutors. City students said they didn’t know about the alleged paper leak until they had finished the exam and left the classrooms. In many cases, parents rushed to the exam centres, fearing that children would panic as speculations were rife that a re-test would be held.

“Around 12 noon, I heard on the news that something like this has happened… many parents had started sending messages to each other… I went to the exam centre immediately to wait for my son, who was writing his exam. Many other parents were also there… everyone was discussing the possibility of the paper being conducted again and how unfair it would be to students,” said Sonal Shah, a resident of NIBM Road.

Heena Kapoor, a Class XII student of Delhi Public School, said a re-test would be “unfair” to students. “We have been preparing for these exams for almost two years… it is one of the lengthiest syllabi and this news is so disappointing. All the students have been discussing the possibility of a re-test and that has made us anxious. My exams get over on April 11… if a re-test is held, it will be after that. A gap of one month and preparations for other papers is surely going to make us forget all the smaller details,” she said.

Meanwhile, many students found the 80-marks paper, divided into Part A and B, lengthy. Some students said they had to leave one or two questions unanswered. School principals said they also received calls from a few parents after the news broke, but they weren’t sure whether the information should be shared. “The board hasn’t sent us any official information, so we are going to wait for it and have asked parents to do the same. However, our schools fall in the Chennai region and the alleged paper leak took place in Delhi region, so we are not sure if it is the same question paper. Maybe there were different sets…,” said Binita Poonekar, principal of the Army Public School in Camp.

Read | CBSE Class 12 Accountancy paper analysis: Tricky, lengthy but easy

Students had, however, already compared the question paper that was allegedly ‘leaked’ and was circulating on WhatsApp to the question paper they had attempted. “We compared the question papers…and found they were exactly the same… we are really worried about a re-test now. My family has made plans for a holiday on April 17, as my exam gets over on April 11. If there is a re-exam, I will not be able to go,” he said.

In an e-mail statement sent on Thursday, Rama Sharma, spokesperson for CBSE, denied the paper leak. “There has been no leakage of the question paper. All the seals have been found intact at all the exam centres. During the process of examination, however, at local level, some miscreants have tried to play mischief by circulating messages through WhatsApp and other social media to disturb the sanctity of the exam. The CBSE has decided to take strict action against such activities. The FIR is being lodged by CBSE today,” she said.

News Source (Indian Express)