CBSE Class 12 economics re-exam on April 25; CBSE Class 10 spared; updates

CBSE retest of class 12 economics paper will affect students who wish to prepare for JEE, NEET 2018 (Medical), CLAT 2018 (Law), NDA 2018, AIIMS 2018, DU Admission 2018

The re-examination of CBSE Class 12 economics paper will be held on April 25, while the plan for CBSE Class 10 mathematics re-test has been dropped. The Supreme Court (SC) today dismissed all petitions related to the CBSE's question paper leaks, saying it won't interfere with any of the Board's decision on a re-exam. The apex court also turned down a plea for a CBI inquiry into the leaks of the Class 10 Mathematics paper and the Class 12 Economics paper. It dismissed a batch of petitions filed by students and parents.

The plea filed by Girija Krishan Varma and Sahil Tagotra, counsels on behalf of parents Monica Sharma, Rashmi Arora, and Mahinder Pratap Singh, of CBSE Class 12 students said the re-test jeopardizes many career plans for the CBSE Class XII students. However, the court his dismissed the plea.

CBSE class 10 maths paper leak: CBSE has decided not to conduct the re-exam after evaluating the impact of the leaked paper and keeping in mind the best interests of the students. The decision has brought a major relief to over 1.6 million Class 10 students, including nearly 200,000 from Delhi-NCR and Haryana.

The class 12 economics and class 10 maths papers were held on 26 March and 28 March, respectively. On 28 March, CBSE announced it would re-conduct Class 12 economics and Class 10 maths examinations as both papers were leaked. The decision has seen widespread anger among students across the country who have been protesting since last Wednesday.

Here are the top 10 developments in the CBSE exam paper lead and re-exam saga so far:

1. CBSE paper leak: 'It happened either in board's custody or at the banks:

The probe into the leak of CBSE class 10 maths and class 12 economics question papers has led the police to believe that the leak happened between the time the papers were in custody of board officials and when those were kept in banks, a senior official said.

With the arrest of three men, including two teachers of a private school in Bawana, police claimed to have busted a module in which the teachers had shared WhatsApp images of the economics paper one-and-a-half hours prior to the exam.

However, when it comes to the trail of handwritten papers that were circulated a day or two before the exam, police are sure that the leak happened either at the board level or the time when they are kept in the banks, the police officer privy to the probe said.

Since it is suspected that the leak might have happened from outer Delhi or Haryana, police have started scanning CCTV footages from the banks in certain areas to see whether there was some suspicious activity around the time the papers were kept there.

2. The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday dismissed all petitions related to the CBSE's question paper leaks, saying it won't interfere with any of the Board's decision on a re-exam. The apex court also turned down a plea for a CBI inquiry into the leaks of the Class 10 Mathematics paper and the Class 12 Economics paper. It dismissed a batch of petitions filed by students and parents.

3. SC to hear plea against CBSE Class 12 Economics paper: Here's why the petitioner thinks CBSE must not conduct the retest of Class 12 Economics paper

a) Primarily it jeopardizes the students/examinees career’s as most of the students are preparing for entrance exams to professional courses, that take place soon after the CBSE exams were to be concluded. These entrance exams are the stepping stones for the students/ examinees to become Doctors, Lawyer’s, Architects, Engineers, and many other career paths. The main exams that fall between April to June 2018 are JEE, NEET 2018 (Medical), GATE 2018, CLAT 2018 (Law), NDA 2018, AIIMS 2018, MAT 2018, DU Admission 2018, SNAP and BITSAT exams. 

b) For some exams, the students/examinees have still to fill up the forms, applications, get admit cards as well as study for the exams. Most students undergo preparatory courses and need to focus on the entrance exams which has a separate curriculum from the CBSE examinations. Taking a CBSE exam in the midst, on the 25th April 2018, majorly disturbs the student’s entire study schedules and can have a long-term impact on their career. 

c) Several Students are due to travel abroad to different countries for further studies and explore career options.

d) Some Students are undertaking preparatory and summer training, inters-ships etc. and the economic loss due to the cancellation of travel and recreational plans with entire 3-4 members of the family. Besides putting the students through unnecessary pressure, it also puts them to a disadvantage against students applying for entrance exams and against students from other Countries for international courses.


4. HRD forms panel to examine CBSE's exam conduct process: The HRD Ministry has set up a "high-powered committee" to examine the process by which the CBSE conducts examinations, following the alleged leak of the Class 10 mathematics and the Class 12 economics papers.

The panel, headed by former HRD secretary V S Oberoi, will also suggest measures to make the process "secure and foolproof through the use of technology" and submit a report by May 31 to the ministry.

"The government had yesterday constituted a high-powered committee, comprising experts, under the chairmanship of V S Oberoi, ex-Secretary, MHRD, to examine the process of conduct of CBSE exams and suggest measures to make it secure and foolproof through the use of technology," the HRD's School Education Secretary, Anil Swarup, said.

5. CBSE papers leak: School principal questioned again, may get a clean chit: The Delhi Police's Crime Branch questioned the principal of a school, whose two teachers were arrested for their alleged role in the leak of Class 12 economics paper, again on Tuesday, after which officials said they had not found anything yet to indicate his involvement in the leak.

The police are trying to find the link to the module in which handwritten papers were circulated days before the Class 10 mathematics and Class 12 economics papers. So far, they have quizzed 150 people, including students and teachers, but they have not been able to trace the source of the leak.

6. No re-test for CBSE Class 10 students anywhere in India: The government on Tuesday said no re-examination of the Class 10 maths paper will be conducted anywhere in the country, bringing major relief to nearly two lakh CBSE Class 10 students in Delhi, NCR and Haryana. The decision was taken in the interest of Class 10 students who had already written their exams on March 28 but were told to sit again after it was learnt that the maths question paper had been leaked.

"Consequent to the preliminary evaluation of the impact of reportedly leaked CBSE Class 10 maths paper and keeping in mind the paramount interest of students, the CBSE has decided not to conduct re-examination even in Delhi, NCR (National Capital Region) and Haryana," said Human Resource Development Ministry Secretary Anil Swarup. Swarup had earlier announced that the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) may re-conduct the maths examination possibly in July for Delhi, its suburbs in NCR and Haryana. The decision has brought a major relief to over 16 lakh Class 10 students, including nearly two lakh from Delhi, NCR and Haryana.

7. CBSE Class 12 economics exams to be reconducted

CBSE Class 12 economics exams will be re-conducted in the wake of question papers being leaked.

For Class 12 economics, the exam will be held across the country on April 25 to avert any likely "reservations against this batch of students" which may affect the outlook of learning institutions here and abroad, CBSE board said.

8. CBSE papers might have been leaked from Haryana:
 

Delhi Police are suspecting that the CBSE question papers might have been leaked from Haryana, a senior official privy to the probe said on Monday.

The police were investigating whether some schools in Sonepat, Jhajjar and Bahadurgarh were also involved in the leak of Class 10 mathematics paper and Class 12 economics paper of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), he said.

"We are probing that angle. It is suspected that some schools and even some CBSE official might be involved in the matter. But we cannot say anything with surety at the moment," the official said.

9. Congress asks PM Modi to break silence: The Opposition stepped up its attack on the government over the CBSE paper leaks, with the Congress accusing the government of sheltering the "exam mafia" that it claimed has taken over the examination system of the country.

The Congress questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the issue and asked why he has not apologised for the paper leaks.

Taking a jibe at the prime minister, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said Modi would now write a sequel to his book "Exam Warriors" to teach students and parents stress relief, once their lives are "destroyed due to leaked exam papers".

10. Leaked Hindi, Political Science paper fake: The Class 12 Hindi (Elective) and Political Science papers being circulated on the social media were fake or previous year question paper, the CBSE said. Days after Economics and Maths paper leaks rocked the board examination, a whistleblower has come forward with the claim that Political Science paper was also made public.

What Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on CBSE Paper leak

Prime Minister Narendra Modi who conducted an interactive session, "Pariksha Par Charcha" with the "exam warriors" before the Board examinations, expressed his displeasure over the CBSE paper leak. He dialed the HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar to express unhappiness and demanded a strict action against the perpetrators.