Odisha govt admits Physics question paper leak, cancels examination

Bhubaneswar: The Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE), Odisha, on Thursday cancelled the examination in Physics subject following leakage of question papers. "We have cancelled the physics examination after leakage of the question paper last night. The fresh date will be announced soon," higher education minister Badri Narayan Patra told reporters. The chairman of the CHSE G S Ray said question papers might have been leaked from nodal centres where all the questions are stored. The students had written the physics paper at different centres today before council`s decision to cancel examination and our people are verifying the source of the leakage, he said. Meanwhile, the issue was raised in the assembly by the Congress chief whip Prasad Harichandan who blamed the state government for repeated leakage of question papers including one such case last year involving the annual high school examination. Demanding stringent action, Harichandan said 76,649 students appearing the Plus-II Science Examination have lost hope and demanded a statement from the minister while other opposition members also demanded a clarification from the state government. The questions have been kept in iron chests in examination centres amid round-the-clock security," CHSE controller of examinations Jasobant Behera had said before the examination. Around 2.9 lakh students from 1,295 colleges have appeared in the month-long annual examination in Science, Arts, Commerce and vocational streams at 1,069 centres across the state. PTI