Badri Patra clears air on concerns over Matric question papers going viral

Bhubaneswar: Amid allegations of question papers going viral on social media during conduct of Matric Exams in Odisha, State School & Mass Education Minister Badri Patra today said the incidents will have no effect on the examination process.

Briefing mediapersons, Patra said, "Strict inspection and frisking is being ensured to prevent entry of mobile phones into the exam centres. If during the examination, the question paper goes viral due to mischief by any source, it will not affect the entire process as the students won't be able to get the answers from outside."

"Since we have been taking stringent action against malpractice, there is no question of any concerns regarding the conduct of examinations, "said Patra.

Asked about allegations of mistakes on the OMR sheets, the minister accepted the fact and assured that there is nothing to worry since the valuation of the sheets will be carried out manually.

It is pertinent to mention that with the commencement of matriculation examination 2019 a few days ago, question papers of first three papers, MIL Odia, English and Hindi reportedly surfaced on different social media platforms during conduct of examinations.

However, no irregularities or lapses were reported during the conduct of Sanskrit examination today.