LAHORE: The ongoing Class IX annual examinations under the Board of Intermediate of Secondary Education (BISE), Lahore, have been marred by widespread cheating as seven examination centres across the city were sealed and papers of hundreds of students were canceled after inspection teams caught red-handed superintendents, invigilators and students doing cheating during the last three days.

Twenty-one officials were arrested for being involved in the scandal. The scandal unfolded at the examination centres in various areas, including Sanda, Mozang, Sabzazar, Model Town and Civil Lines.

The inspection teams apprehended those involved in facilitating cheating during the exams. A number of students were caught attempting to cheat while superintendents and invigilators were facilitating the malpractice after taking bribes.

21 officials held for involvement in scandal; students pay Rs30,000 for each paper, Rs12,000 for MCQs

Punjab Minister for School Education Rana Sikander Hayat personally led the inspection and conducted surprise visits at examination centres. His surprise visits to examination centers exposed the extent of cheating.

A total of 21 officials were arrested, including four private invigilators and superintendents. These officials allegedly accepted bribes and allowed the students to cheat during the exams.

An initial investigation revealed that students were paying up to Rs 30,000 per paper to solve answers of the questions. The invigilators were getting Rs12,000 to solve multiple choice questions (MCQs) in each paper.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister emphasized that nobody should be allowed to play with the future of students. He vowed to take strict action against those involved in cheating.

The scandal has raised serious concerns about the IX class annual examination system’s integrity and the need for robust measures to prevent such malpractices in the future.

The BISE Lahore has launched an inquiry and a committee was formed to investigate the matter further.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2024