Ramakanta Biswas

Bhubaneswar: Amid surfacing of one after another serious lapses in the ongoing annual High School Certificate (HSC) examination conducted by the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), a purported video of a teacher collecting bribe from students to allow them to cheat during the board exams has gone viral on social media.

In the viral video, a teacher of BR Amedkar High School of Garei in Muribahal block of Bolangir was seen purportedly collecting Rs 500 each from students to allow them to malpractice during the examination.

According to sources, the Class X students of BR Amedkar High School are appearing for the board exam at Pataneswari High School at Lebada. The accused teacher was collecting the money from students assuring them that the staff engaged at the examination centre would allow them to use cheats during the examination.

An ex-regular student of BR Amedkar High School alleged that he had given Rs 500 to the teacher during last year’s matriculation exam and paid Rs 300 this year.

On the other hand, the accused PE teacher, Dharmu Bag, dismissed the allegations. “It is completely false and baseless. We collected examination fees and others sum which were due and did not collect money for helping them in malpractice. Some people are trying to defame the teachers,” he said.

Meanwhile, the district education officer (DEO) has initiated an inquiry into the matter. “I have asked the block education officer to inquire into the matter and take action accordingly,” said Sudhakar Nayak, sub-collector of Titilagarh.

This is not the isolated incident of lapse during the ongoing Matric examination. There were reports of leak of MIL Odia question papers on the first day of the examination on February 19. Similarly, guardians and acquaintances of students were seen supplying cheats to students during English subject examination yesterday.

Speaking about open supplying of cheats to students, educationist Kamal Prasad Mohapatra said, “The centre superintendents must have got information regarding the blatant supply of cheats to students by their guardians. Education Reform Act 1988 says those who come within 100 metres radius of examination centre should be arrested immediately.”

“Such malpractice can be prevented by taking exemplary punishment against those guilty and bringing sensitive centres under CCTV surveillance,” he added.

School and mass education minister Sameer Dash said, “It is right on part of the guardians to supply cheats to the students. The administration is taking whatever measures needed to be taken to curb such illegal practices.”

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