After Class 10 and Class 12 revision exam question papers in Tamil Nadu were leaked on Sunday, February 13, the Tamil Nadu School Education Department has suspended Thiruvannamalai Chief Educational Officer (CEO ) S Arulselvam from service with immediate effect. He was suspended after a probe identified that the question papers of Class 10 Science and Class 12 Mathematics were leaked from two private schools in Tiruvannamalai district.
The leak was reported on Sunday after photos of the test papers were circulated on WhatsApp groups. The department initiated a probe and found that two schools, Auxilium Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Polur and Hasini International Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Vandavasi, were responsible for the test paper leak. According to reports, the schools were identified based on the seals of the test papers. Education officials in the district lodged a complaint with the Ponnur police, after correctly identifying the seal of the schools on these papers.
It then placed CEO Arulselvam under suspension, after it was found that he had violated the rules for the distribution of question papers. The CEO has to store the exam papers for both classes 10 and 12 in district strong rooms, and hand the papers over to schools on the days of the exams. But reports citing department authorities said that in Tiruvannamalai, CEO Arulselvam handed over the test papers to the schools directly before the exams, instead of keeping them in strong rooms and distributing them on exam days.
The School Education Department will further also initiate criminal action against those responsible for leaking the question papers, School Education Commissioner K Nanathakumar told the press. He also said that all government officials who did not follow the guidelines will also face departmental action.
The TN School Education Department is conducting a common revision test across the state to prepare students for the board exam. In case the board exams for classes 10 and 12 are cancelled in 2022 due to the pandemic, the marks obtained by the students in these revision exams will be taken as reference marks for the future.
With Arulselvam’s suspension, Villupuram district CEO Krishnapriya has been given the additional responsibility of CEO Thiruvannamalai. According to the government, the exams will be conducted as per schedule across the state, despite the leaks.