Exam superintendents in a fix as 15,000 pens ‘missing’

FARIDKOT: More than 15,000 missing ballpoint pens in the Punjab School Education Department (PSEB) has landed about 350 superintendents of the Punjab State Teacher Eligibility Test (PSTET-2015) centres in difficulty, two years after conducting the test.

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, February 11

More than 15,000 missing ballpoint pens in the Punjab School Education Department (PSEB) has landed about 350 superintendents of the Punjab State Teacher Eligibility Test (PSTET-2015) centres in difficulty, two years after conducting the test.

After the Audit Department found the stationery item missing and unaccounted for in the PSEB, the latter has asked over 350 central superintendents in the state to submit the details regarding these this week.

These pens were supposed to be provided to the candidates for writing in December 2015.

The written examination for PSTET-2015 was conducted on December 13, 2015.

In this examination, about 50,000 candidates were registered to appear. The PSEB had established more than 350 exam centres.

The candidates were not allowed to carry any type of pen, watch, cell phone, calculator or electronic device in the examination hall. Pens to write the exam were to be provided by the PSEB.

The PSEB had provided some extra pens at each exam centre so that in case of any fault with any pen, students did not have to face any difficulty.

The superintendent of the examination centre was to deposit all surplus and not-used pens with the PSEB as a large number of candidates had remained absent in the exam.

During the auditing, the Audit Department found more than 15,000 pens missing and unaccounted for in the PSEB.

Hargunjit Kaur, secretary, PSEB, said as per the Audit Department’s objection, the board has demanded all exam centre superintendents in the state to submit the details of unused and returned pens.

Terming it a highly ridiculous exercise, Prem Chawla, convener of the Teacher’s Joint Front, said it was unnecessary harassment of teachers and exam superintendents, asking them to submit the details of pens received, used, non-used and returned over two years after conducting the exam.