With Multiple Papers, QR codes, And Live Tracking, CBSE Plugged Paper Leaks This Year

The board exams will end this week in case everything goes as planned without a paper leak. All of the leak-prone exams including maths and the sciences have been written but officials at Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) aren’t celebrating yet. Because, a last-minute slip could leave them with red faces like last year.

Multiple leaks had marred the 2018 CBSE board examinations. Besides the Class XIIth economics paper, which had to be held again, the Class Xth maths paper was leaked. Pictures of solved question papers of some other subjects also went viral.

For immediators, this system of multiple sets of question papers was reintroduced after two years. This looked like a simple and easy fix and wouldn’t have stopped leakage during handling. The CBSE, thus, taken into consideration new technologies and other necessary measures for making its system leak-proof. Not only were so many questions reordered for making multiple sets, a few new questions were also inserted. This has never been done before. An official of CBSE said that some paper sets had up to 30% questions which were new. Some exam papers even had more than three sets.

QR codes were also there with the question papers for tracing the origin of a leak and stop its spread. And encrypted papers were kept ready as backup. A source of CBSE said that the encrypted papers can be sent to most centres online within minutes.

The board also tracked exam centre superintendents for carrying the examination papers to the centres. For maintaining a record of the time when each set of question papers were opened at variouscentres, the superintendents had to send pictures on WhatsaApp for monitoring room. The monitoring cell of board worked overtime for keeping tabs on social media, especially Youtube and WhatsApp. Within the first four days of the exams, it was found that 17 weblinks on Youtube which were falsely claiming to sell original papers. It also lodged FIR with Delhi Police on March 6th.

A source said that overall, they found 47 such links which claim to either sell question papers or use the CBSE logo for creating panic and confusion among students. They have posted the links on our official website to make students and parents both alerts. The CBSE also ran a campaign for making students aware of fake news regarding paper leaks and availability of leaked papers on social media.

Finally, a simple modification to exam hall timings left no opportunity for making use of leaked papers. While earlier, students who could enter up to half an hour late, this year they had to be seated by 10.15am for examinations which started at 10.30 am. The official said that most students are now seated by 9.50 am and no movement is allowed inside the centre by 10am when the question papers are sent to the classes.

By: Preeti Narula

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