Additional director general (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said it is “high time” the process of making question papers went “totally technological”.
The English paper for UP Board’s class 12 examination was discovered to be leaked in Ballia last month and the exam was cancelled in as many as 24 districts on the day students were scheduled to appear for it.
The English paper “leak” came four months after the UP Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) paper was leaked, causing the exam to be cancelled at the eleventh hour, inconveniencing about 2 million students. The issue has recurred irrespective of the ruling dispensation with exams being cancelled under previous governments too.
“There are deep-rooted gangs which are solely involved in this practice–to get papers leaked or deploy solvers in exams,” Kumar told ET, suggesting that technological solutions should be found so that question papers do not have to be prepared beforehand, and the questions can be shared a short while before the exam, printed and distributed.
Kumar also defended the UP police against the often made allegation that it is biased against minorities– especially due to its action under the law preventing cow slaughter and prohibiting unlawful religious conversion. He called such allegations “unfounded”. “These criticisms are unfounded. If not religion, there have also been allegations of bias against a particular community (Brahmins). There are so many checks and balances that ensure one cannot do illegal things and get away with it.
On women in police force, Kumar said that apart from the pink booths in urban areas, and women constable-manned female helpdesks across all police stations, 10,000 beats are owned by women officers who go around and note down problems, not just related to crime and law and order, but others as well. He also said a “massive recruitment drive” is underway to fulfil the promise of at least 20% of the police workforce being women.
