Day before exam, question paper leaked through teachers' Whatsapp group in Tamil Nadu

COIMBATORE: A day before the start of the half-yearly exams for class-IX students, a question paper for the Tamil subject was leaked through a WhatsApp group for teachers.

With the question papers for this exam being prepared at the district level, the School Education Department has initiated an inquiry to find which district the leaked paper is from.

While no teacher has been held accountable for the leak yet, the question paper showing up in the WhatsApp group had many members leaving it to avoid suspicion.

The half-yearly exams have been scheduled to be held from December 13 to 23; Tamil is the first paper.

While the Directorate of Government Examinations (DGE) prepares the question paper for classes VI to XII for the annual/board exams, the ones for the other exams are done at the district level.

The paper that was leaked could have come from any district, pointed out Tamil Nadu High and Higher Secondary School Graduate Teachers Association (TNHHSSGT) District President T Arulanandham.

"If officials were to check all the question papers prepared in the districts, they would be able to find out the origin of the leaked paper. However, some private parties too prepare question paper similar to that of the districts and release it around exam time," he said.

The question paper's appearance on the WhatsApp group has had two reactions from teachers -- while some have left the group, fearing departmental action, a few seemed to have circulated the paper in other WhatsApp groups.

Even as this does not come under the purview of the DGE, its Director C Usharani said that they would be looking into this.

A senior official in the School Education Department said that the question papers were first released in Krishnagiri district but the leaked paper is not the same as the one released there. All chief educational officers have been asked to check the papers in their district, the official added.