Keonjhar: The Odisha Nurses and Midwives Examination Board (ONMEB), Bhubaneswar has postponed the annual tests for the ANM and GNM courses scheduled for December 18 and 19 over alleged leak of question papers till further orders, sources said Sunday.
ONMEB had earlier announced that it will conduct the examination for auxiliary nursing midwives (ANM) and general nursing midwives (GNM) from December 11 till December 19, this year. It had published the routine August 18, 2023.
However, taking all by surprise Sunday the board issued a notice (No-947/NEB-3/2023) announcing the postponement of examinations scheduled for December 18 and December 19.
Exams were to be held for first, second and third-year GNM students December 18 and 19. The sudden postponement of the examinations sparked concern among the students.
When contacted, ONMEB secretary Basanti Behera confirmed the development. She said that the examination has been postponed due to question paper leaks. The matter came to the fore after a staff of nursing college informed her.
The staff had received the sample question paper in his WhatsApp and promptly informed Behera. The matter was reviewed and a decision was taken to issue the notice for postponement of the exams. A meeting of ONMEB committee will be held Monday and decision will be taken on the further course of action.
Behera said that the question papers are in the custody of 35 sub-collectors offices in the state. She said that a decision will be taken to hold the examination as soon as possible in view of the future of the students.
BJP state executive member Alok Sethy said that the question paper leak has exposed the inefficiency of the department officials. He alleged the involvement of a big racket in the question paper leak. Sethy said many persons are minting money by playing with the future of the students.
Sethy raised doubts on the claim of ONMEB officials about the leak of only two question papers. He alleged that the leak has taken place in all subjects of ANM and GNM examinations and demanded an inquiry by the state Vigilance department to unravel the truth. He asserted that stringent action must be taken against the persons involved in the wrongdoing.
PNN