CBSE paper leak: Students, parents protest against retest outside Board's office in Panchkula

A day after the Central Board of Secondary Education ordered a retest of the Class X mathematics and Class XII economics papers, students of several schools and their parents assembled at the CBSE office in Sector 5, Panchkula, on Thursday in protest against the decision to hold the exams again. The confused and agitated crowd of over 50 people had to return disappointed when they were informed about the absence of government officials on account of Mahavir Jayanti.

An irritated Utkarsh Bharti, a student of Class X at DAV Sector-11, Panchkula, said, “What was the point of all those hours we’ve spent preparing for the exam? We didn’t get the leaked paper nor did we benefit in any way. So, why are we paying the price for CBSE’s negligence?” He added, “Tuitions and schools will be closed by the date of retest as well. We’ll not have anybody to guide us through the re-test. That will probably reflect on our results.”

Another student of Class XII, Akash Sharma, while referring to this announcement, said, “This is our first encounter with corruption and the reality of adult life. It is unfair that we have to pay the price for our government’s inability to curb this malpractice. My family had a vacation planned and all set and after this announcement, we had to cancel all our bookings and plans as well.”

A woman, whose son is a student of DAV Surajpur, told Chandigarh Newsline, “My son, who just completed his Class X maths exam, almost broke down when he heard the news of a retest. This, in a way, is pure torture.”

Police officials present on the scene also did not help the kids ease their anxiety as they were seen joking around about the retest. When asked whether there was any guarantee that the paper would not be leaked for the second time, they casually asked the kids to prepare for a second retest.

The official notification was available on the website, cbse.nic, and the two papers were allegedly leaked on WhatsApp. Sources suggested that the exams would be held just after all the tests get over which means the Class X maths exam would be held after April 4 and Class XII economics after April 12.

News Source (Indian Express)