Mass cheating reported at Class 12 Himachal exam centre; teacher dictated answers to students, caught on CCTV

After reports of alleged mass copying in the Class 12 examination at PM Shri Government Senior Secondary School (GSSS), Jawali, the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education (HPBSE) suspended the examination centre on Friday.

The board issued a notification last evening and shifted the centre for the remaining Class 12 and 10 examinations to GSSS Matlahar.

Taking strict action against the invigilator staff deployed at the centre, the state Education Department has recommended stringent action against the centre coordinator, centre superintendent and deputy superintendent responsible for conducting the examination.

According to Dr Rajesh Sharma, Chairman of the HPBSE, the three officials responsible for conducting the board examinations have been placed under suspension by the state government for allegedly promoting unfair practices at the examination centre in GSSS Jawali. He reiterated that the state government was committed to conducting fair board examinations with zero tolerance for copying or other unfair means.

As per official information, a teacher present in the examination hall was verbally dictating answers to the Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) to students. The incident was captured by CCTV cameras installed at the examination centre. The online monitoring cell in the HPBSE control room in Dharamshala detected the alleged mass copying.

After the incident was flagged, the SDM of Jawali was informed and asked to immediately visit the centre to verify the situation.

Dr Sharma told The Tribune that the SDM Jawali had been asked to conduct an inquiry, while the Director of Education would initiate further disciplinary action against the three invigilators for failing to discharge their duties with responsibility and integrity.