Author Topic: Eight Thousands buy SSC exam package  (Read 1425 times)

Offline fizza bano

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Eight Thousands buy SSC exam package
« on: April 16, 2010, 05:59:09 AM »
Eight Thousands buy SSC exam package
Karachi:Despite tall claims and assurances made by the Board of Secondary Education, Karachi (BSEK), the sale of blank answer booklets for the ongoing Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Annual Examination-2010 is continuing unabated, The News has learnt.

Sources told The News that the “cheating mafia” has done roaring business this year by selling a “package” of blank answer booklets. Prospective buyers are able to buy the package for Rs8,000, sources said, explaining that the package consists of both the primary answer booklet and the supplementary answer booklet.

The primary answer booklet, also known as Copy A, costs Rs6, 000, while the supplementary answer booklet, Copy B, is priced at Rs2,000, sources said. “The mafia don’t sell these booklets individually, and force their clients to purchase the complete package for Rs8,000. This practice makes the business more profitable,” sources narrated.

Sources said that in the past, the cheating mafia had access to more options, such as arranging impersonators for ‘favourite’ candidates, making special rooms for candidates (who would pay handsome amounts in return), enrolling people who belong to other cities or provinces in ten papers (for combined examinations), and tampering with grand totals, percentages and grades of a candidate.

The Board had taken strict notice of mismanagement that took place till last year, and made some changes to the system to avoid the same practices this year, sources said. While corruption in the past allegedly took place in connivance with Board employees, this year the mafia could not resort to large-scale cheating, and hence, kept their focus on the sale of blank answer booklets and special rooms.

The cycle of fraud started at the Board office, sources said, where mafia representatives and their agents within the BSEK stamp answer booklets with particular serial numbers. The same serial numbers are then marked on the answer booklets arranged for prospective clients. “This option has some risks, but it works,” sources said.

Sources described that candidates purchase blank answer booklets from agents of the mafia, and fill them outside their examination centres. “A completed answer booklet is supposed to be returned to a mafia representative during exam timings. For instance, a student of the General Group would have to hand over their booklets to the agent before noon. Likewise, candidates of the Science Group have to return their answer booklets by 5pm,” sources said.

Candidates who avail this “facility” are bound to return their answer booklets on time, sources said, claiming that failure to do so results in the mafia absolving themselves of any responsibility. Once the mafia receives answer booklets from their clients, they pass them on to their agents at BSEK, who adjust these answer booklets according to serial numbers with other, genuine copies.

Further, sources said, the Board is using answer booklets which were printed in 2009. These sheets contain bear the signatures of the previous and the incumbent controller of examinations. When BSEK Secretary Hoor Bi Mazhar was asked for his version, he said that the Board had a huge quantity of leftover answering copies from last year, and the Board was using them in the annual examinations this year rather than destroying them. However, she added, the signature of Kalim Asghar Kirmani is also present on such booklets. Sources claimed that the mafia was initially trying to arrange special rooms in various centres across the city, but they did not get a great response from schools. However, some influential school managements succeeded in getting the examination centres for their students changed, as per their own choice. Sources disclosed that most examination centres were changed a couple of days before the annual examinations commenced.The news