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Social science paper cancelled after ‘leak’
Shariq Majeed
Tribune News Service

Rajouri, February 28
The Class VIII social science exam that was to be held today was cancelled after it was alleged that the question paper was being sold in market here for a meagre Rs 10. Following the reports of paper leak, the Education Department authorities cancelled the exam.

Sources told The Tribune that in the morning after reports that the social science question paper of Class VIII was being sold at shops in the town for Rs 10, the district administration deputed the Assistant Commissioner, Revenue, to probe into the matter. The Assistant Commissioner got the question paper available at shops compared with the actual question paper and found that a majority of questions in the both were same, they added.

The sources added that a team of officers comprising chief education officer, Rajouri, Kuldeep Kumar Gupta, DSP, Headquarters, and the Assistant Commissioner, Revenue, raided 15 schools to ascertain the facts. However, the team didn’t get any clue about the alleged paper leak. Even as the team was probing into the incident, the education authorities here cancelled the examination. Confirming the cancellation of today’s exam, Deputy Commissioner, Rajouri, Rafiq Sheikh said, “We asked the chief education officer to cancel the exam after hearing the reports of paper leak. I have deputed the Assistant Commissioner, Revenue, to probe into the matter”.

Meanwhile, sources in the Education department here said Gupta was taking the matter “very seriously” and he had called a meeting of zonal education officers, inspectors and other staff on coming Tuesday to identify the laxity on the part of exam staff. He said strict action would be taken against anyone found involved in the paper leak, they added.

Gupta told The Tribune that since the leak of social science paper was alleged, the examination had been cancelled. “The number of students appearing in the examination is more than 11,000. We cannot conduct the social science examination immediately, as we have to print question papers and answer sheets afresh. The examination would probably be held on March 15”, Gupta said. “Meanwhile, we, on our part, are also probing the alleged leak of the question paper.”