Mass copying: Exam centre of Paonta school blacklisted

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, April 20

Regional Director, National Open School, Dharamsala, today cancelled its DAV School-based examination centre at Paonta Sahib following a mass copying case which was detected by the police yesterday.

Regional Director, National Open School, Dharamsala, Sanjeev Sharma, said the DAV Paonta Sahib-based centre had been cancelled for the remaining examinations which were underway and it has been blacklisted for future.

He said 359 students who were supposed to appear in the DAV School have been shifted to an adjoining examination centre at New Crescent Senior Secondary School. He said the examinations which had begun on March 29 will last till April 27.

A case of cheating, criminal conspiracy and HP Prevention of Malpractices at Universities, Act, 1984, was registered against 28 people, including Principal of DAV School Paonta Sahib and 11 women, by the police after an organised mass copying scam was detected at the school yesterday. A woman and two minor boys have also been booked for impersonation.

Besides, two persons Rajesh Solanki and Nandlal Sharma, who are employees of State Education Department and were part of the flying squad, have also been associated in the case by the police for their failure to check the malpractices, informed DSP Paonta Sahib Pramod Chauhan.

While the police were verifying the monetary gains made by these people preliminary investigations revealed that each candidate paid lakhs.

Investigations revealed that Shishpal and Om Prakash, who were also running private educational centres, identified the candidates and they arranged all paraphernalia to ensure that they successfully passed in the exams by facilitating mass copying in connivance with the school staff as well as the invigilators.

It was surprising to note that eight women, who were either taking coaching or were working in private educational centres, were appointed invigilators in violation of the norms. Two other women were appointed to answer the question papers and even the question papers were opened much before the examination began.

The school’s Principal VK Lavani and the accountant Vivek Aggarwal, Shish Pal and Om Prakash have been identified as the main conspirator. Shish Pal had even involved his sister in this mass copying case.

The police was also verifying whether 210 degrees confiscated from two educational centres at Paonta Sahib pertaining to four private universities were fake and why they were in the possession of these centres. These degrees also pertained to courses like physical, organic and inorganic chemistry as well as Fluid Dynamics where practical examination is mandatory and such courses can’t be conducted through the distant education mode, said SP Souyma Sambasivan.