Assam Assembly: SEBA reforms discussed

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Education Minister Ranoj Pegu sought suggestions from the legislators on SEBA (Board of Secondary Education, Assam) reforms.

The Minister made such a plea to the MLAs when the Opposition members raised the recent issue of the HSLC (High School Leaving Certificate) question paper leak on the floor of the Assembly today. Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia raised the issue under Rule 50. He said, "Only SEBA reforms will not serve the purpose. The SEBA Act also needs an amendment. The State Government did form as many as three committees for SEBA reforms. However, the government did precious little on the recommendations of the committees. Many quarters in the state raised the issue of the removal of the present SEBA chairman during the recent question paper leak. The government should relieve him."

AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam said, "There are allegations that five private junior colleges paid Rs 30 lakh to the AHSEC (Assam Hugher Secondary Education Council) and collected HS question papers in advance. The junior colleges give the question papers to their meritorious students to excel in examinations."

CPI (M) MLA Manoranjan Talukdar said, "SEBA sends question papers in sealed covers that have more packets inside. The board does not seal the inside packets and close them with adhesive. There lies the chance of question paper leakage. The government should remove the SEBA chairman and the Controller of examinations and conduct a thorough inquiry."

Congress members Nandita Das, Diganta Barman, Kamalakshya Dey Purkayastha, and Dr Asif Mahammed Nazar, as well as independent MLA Akhil Gogoi, took part in the debate.

Responding to the issue, Ranoj Pegu said, "We came to know about the leak of the HSLC general science question on March 12, when the examination was scheduled for March 13. The SEBA took the decision to cancel the examination at midnight on March 12. It also filed a case with the CID that unearthed the source of the leak, leading to the arrest of several accused. The CID also found during its investigation that the prime accused also took the MIL question paper along with the general science question paper. This led to the cancellation of the MIL examination as well. The two examinations took place on March 30 and April 1, as scheduled. The examination process is over now. The SEBA will declare the results in time."

On the leak of question papers, Pegu further said, "Question paper leak is a national problem now. Around 70 such incidents took place in the country in the past ten years. Two such incidents took place in Assam, one in 2006 and the other in 2023. This year, the question paper leak was from one school, Lohit Khabolu High School. Had the question papers leaked at the SEBA, we could have held them responsible. When the teachers do the mischief, the problem becomes complicated. Question papers never go to the SEBA office. After printing, the question papers go directly to the police stations. This time, the person in charge of the examination leaked the question paper from the police station. The government has taken the matter seriously. The whole examination process is not yet over. We will do a post-mortem on the entire episode and ensure exemplary punishment for the culprits. The members of this august House should suggest what kind of reforms the board needs besides the amendment to the SEBA Act. If the suggestions come point-by-point, it will be helpful for us to strengthen the SEBA. We will take your suggestions into consideration."

The minister appealed to the members to share the minimum clues with the government regarding the allegation that some junior colleges have paid cash for question papers to the AHSEC, Pegu said. "We conducted an inquiry into this allegation but got nothing," he added.

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