Pb suspends 2 officials for Board exam malpractices

Chandigarh: The Punjab School Education Department on Wednesday suspended two teachers deputed as a Superintendent and an Invigilator at Government Model Senior Secondary School (Boys), Gurdaspur for their involvement in examination malpractices during the ongoing Class 10 board examinations.

The action was taken by the department on the directions of School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains.

Bains said that the Punjab School Education Board’s Flying Squad teams uncovered a serious breach of examination protocols at the Gurdaspur centre during the Class 10 English examination on March 17. The flying squad discovered that Invigilator Kirandeep Kaur was “improperly soliciting answers via WhatsApp on her mobile phone to assist students”.

“This flagrant violation occurred under the watch of Examination Center Superintendent Ashwani Kumar, Lecturer, who negligently allowed mobile devices inside the examination hall,” the minister said. Consequently, both officials have been suspended with immediate effect. During their suspension period, they will report to the District Education Officer, Gurdaspur.

The minister directed the officials to further intensify vigilance by constituting additional teams and increasing the number of flying squads to root out malpractices and conduct examinations with fairness.