A jittery Department of Pre-University Education, which is under tremendous pressure, is doing everything it can to conduct the re-examination of chemistry paper smoothly on April 12.

In an unprecedented move, paper-setters, who completed setting the fresh set of chemistry paper on Tuesday, are being held at an undisclosed location, and police have been deployed to monitor them, it has now emerged. “The police are with them and until the examination, they will be held in the secret location,” a source in DPUE said.

The “desperate” measure was to avoid another paper leak and one more embarrassment to the State government that is under fire from students and parents. “There is a possibility of paper-setters being able to recall the questions that they had set. So, we had to convince them to cooperate with us as we need to rule out every step at which there was a possibility of paper leakage. They will not be allowed to interact with anyone until the examination begins on April 12,” a source said.

The question papers have been set, and a team, led by an IAS officer, has gone to get them, which have been printed at a press outside the State. Once printed the question papers are likely to be deposited at the strong room in DPUE. Two days prior to the exam the question papers are likely to be dispatched to the district treasuries and the deputy commissioners will be made responsible to ensure that the question papers are kept intact, according to the sources.

The department also decided to ban the use of mobile phones by those involved in the transportation of question papers to the exam centres. They included officials from DPUE, treasuries, district administration and the police, the sources added.

Severe criticism

The department had come under severe criticism after it was learnt that no new question papers were set for the chemistry re-examination [ordered after the first question paper leakage on March 21] that was scheduled for March 31 and after the same printers were relied upon to print the papers. The re-exam on March 31 was also cancelled.

[Source:- The Hindu]