Chhattisgarh: Agri university cancels exam after police probe confirms paper leak

The government-run Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (IGKV) in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur cancelled the BSc Agriculture first-year plant pathology examination held on August 7 after a police investigation into a separate question paper leak case found that its paper was also leaked, officials said on Monday.

IGKV vice chancellor Girish Chandel took the decision to cancel the exam during an emergency meeting. This followed the August 20 leak of the second-year BSc Agriculture Entomology question paper and the arrest of a professor and five students at a private college in Durg.

A police investigation into the August 20 leak found that the Plant Pathology question paper was also compromised. Officials said the examination will be re-conducted in the first week of September. The re-test for the leaked Entomology paper is also scheduled during the same period.

The university has issued a notice to the Durg college and initiated action against it for allegedly failing to ensure exam confidentiality. It has issued show cause notices to observers appointed for the Entomology and Plant Pathology examinations at the college.

“Strict disciplinary action will also be taken against students of the college detained by Raipur Police in connection with the August 20 paper leak,” an official said.

Following the Entomology paper leak, the university changed the system of distributing question papers to affiliated colleges. Papers for the August 22 BSc examinations were sent via password-protected email instead of physical copies. Papers for the 10am examination reached colleges at 9.30am, officials said.

The same procedure will be followed for examinations scheduled on Monday. The university will increase the number of CCTV cameras in its examination department and examination halls at affiliated colleges.

Officials said the university is also considering the use of technology to strengthen the confidentiality, transparency and security of its examination system.

The university has assured that stringent measures will be taken to prevent further question paper leaks.

The paper leaks in Chhattisgarh are the latest in a series of such leaks. They came days after protests against examination irregularities in Jharkhand were suspended after chief minister Hemant Soren gave in to most of the demands and announced the exam cancellations. In July, student protests against exam irregularities forced then Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to step down.