EXAM SCAM School records of last 10 yrs to be verified

Dharamsala,Three-member committee, constituted by the state government for inquiring into the loopholes in Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education (HPBSE) after the expose of the examination scam, has now decided to scrutinise records of the private schools producing toppers in the last 10 years.Highly placed sources have told that the orders to this affect have been issued yesterday evening by chairman of the committee Omkar Sharma.The records are being scrutinised after some people gave inputs to committee regarding dubious means being used by certain schools to secure top positions for their students. The committee was on three-day visit to Dharamsala-based head office of the HPBSE last week. It had urged the common people to give them information regarding the scam, following which some people came and disposed off before the committee on-camera, the sources told .While scrutinising the records the committee will try to find out if some mechanism has been evolved by certain schools to procure top positions for their children. The schools that will be under scrutiny are from different parts of the state.Omkar said, “I have directed my team members to seize records of the last 10 years of the schools that are having meritorious positions in the results declared by the board.”In the present examination scam, the investigating agencies are of the view that examination system has been rigged by a group led by a former government teacher. He allegedly procured a few answer sheets from the government school. The answer sheets were scanned and further used by the accused. The students on rolls of accused never used to appear in examinations or practical examinations. He used the scanned answer sheets to get the papers solved for the students, who paid him to pass the examinations.The bundles of the answer sheets were sent directly to the evaluation centres by the accused. However, the sources told The Tribune that the entire operation could not have been carried without active connivance of the board employees.Though the answer sheets were sent by the accused directly to the evaluation centres, the details of marks in the practical examinations were sent directly to the board by the schools. How the board officials accepted fake practical lists sent by the accused is still a mystery?Presently the education board is carrying out its internal inquiry and has issued show cause notice to about 38 employees. The police has been investigating the case on its own. It has arrested the main accused and his aides, three postmen, who have allegedly delivered registered post of the education board to the accused. However, it has not yet questioned or arrested any of the board employees.The third probe is now being conducted by the committee constituted under Director (Industries) Omkar Sharma by the state government. However, it remains to be seen what results all these probes yield to restore faith of people in the education board.