Dhenkanal: Hundreds of people, including parents and guardians of examinees taking High School Certificate exams, were found entering a school premises in Dhenkanal district and providing answer chits to their wards Monday, exposing the Board of Secondary Education’s claim that it has stepped up three-tier security to prevent malpractices.
Different TV channels telecast video clips showing hundreds entering the premises of Panchayati Raj High School at Palasapitha in Bhuban block by scaling its boundary wall and passing answer chits to their wards, while a handful of policemen stood like mute spectators.
Locals were spotted helping students cheat in the exam in Bolangir and Dhenkanal.
Candidates in the examination halls of Ghunsar High School of Bolangir were aided with paper balls rolled into chits thrown into the halls by locals perched on the compound wall around the school’s perimeter.
This blatant malpractice brings to mind, the famed mass cheating crisis of Bihar in 2015 where parents hanging on the walls of exam centres were caught on camera.
Though mobile phones are prohibited from examination centres, it seems like parents and locals are taking a leaf out of their Bihari counterparts to help students pass the exam
BSE president Dr Jahan Ara Begum said the board has taken up the matter seriously and will initiate stern action against the centre superintendents concerned and other staff engaged in exam duty. She also said that the board will request the district administration to clamp prohibitory orders under Section 144 in and around the school premises.
But District Education Officer Sudhananda Parida denied any malpractice had taken place.
PNN