CBSE’s new system: First exam after leak delayed over confusion

New Delhi: Class 10 and Class 12 students appearing for the CBSE board examination had to wait for nearly an hour as the board said that it is starting a new system from today to ensure maximum security and secrecy for questions papers, NDTV reported.

The exam on Monday is the first after the Class 10 Mathematics and Class 12 Economics question papers were leaked as reported last week.

Tightening its noose against any negligence, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had said the examination centres would receive an encrypted copy of the question paper on Monday morning, and they would need to download and print the papers on their own.

The first day of examination sees Class 10 students sitting for their language exams including Sanskrit, Urdu and French while Class 12 students have Hindi.

The schools were to receive an email link to the question papers, by logging in using passwords sent to the superintendents, and print over 2,000 sheets of paper until 10:15am - 15 minutes before the exam - under surveillance.

But the board decided to go with the old system, in which the CBSE gets the papers printed at a designated printing press and sends them in a sealed package to their centres. The centres hand over the sealed packages to banks and the schools where the exams are held are to collect the papers from the banks.

Officials say the new system was tested on Thursday before the board sent instructions to exam centres.

To execute its new plan, the board had asked schools to arrange high-speed internet, with dongles as backup and generators. But officials say many schools said they did not have adequate resources or ample staff.

Around two million students are struggling after two exam papers were leaked last week. The board has announced that Class 12 students will take Economics re-exam on April 25. The Class 10 Mathematics paper, if held at all, will be in July and only in Delhi and Haryana, said the board on Friday.