Gandhinagar, Feb 14 (PTI) Gujarat Lokayukta has suggested printing of question papers for recruitment exams conducted by the Subordinate Service Selection Board only at the government-run press, which would help in fixing responsibility in the event of a paper leak.
The Lokayukta also recommended that only a few persons, such as the chairman of the examination board, should have an idea about the exact questions to be incorporated in the paper.
These observations were made in the ‘Twenty Third Annual Consolidated Report of Lokayukta of Gujarat’, which was tabled in the state Assembly on Wednesday during the ongoing Budget session.
The Lokayukta also suggested to consider the paper-setting procedure followed by the GPSC (Gujarat Public Service Commission) or UPSC.
The Lokayukta had registered an inquiry in 2022 based on complaints from people in view of the leak of question papers for various written tests conducted by the Gujarat Subordinate Service Selection Board (GSSSB).
“To make the system transparent and accountable and to avoid any such incident in future, it is desirable if the government, at the appropriate level, makes necessary modification in the procedure so that responsibility can be fixed and cross-examination can be done,” stated the report prepared by Lokayukta Justice Rajesh Shukla (retired).
The Lokayukta stated that “first of all, the papers should be printed only at the government-run press where the responsibility could be fixed in case of a paper leak incident”.
“Even if the present system is continued, some changes in the procedure are required to maintain secrecy. When the paper goes into printing, persons involved in the printing or the owner of the press should also follow certain norms,” as per the report.
Notably, police investigations in the past had revealed that a question paper for the exam for the recruitment of head clerks was leaked from a private press in Sanand city, which was given the paper printing contract by the GSSSB.
Similarly, a question paper for the recruitment of the junior clerk exam was leaked from a private press in Telangana.
The Lokayukta also suggested framing a more detailed procedure for setting question papers for competitive exams.
According to Lokayukta, only a few persons, such as the chairman of the Board, should have an idea about the exact questions being included in the paper even as different sets of questions are collected from one or more moderators.
“Thus, it will not be known which questions are likely to be included in the final paper. A close examination of the procedure for setting the papers followed by GPSC or UPSC could be considered to get a better idea for improving the process of conducting the examination,” the Lokayukt added. PTI PJT NSK
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