KARACHI, July 20: An examiner of mathematics paper-I of the HSC annual examinations 2004, during scrutiny, has discovered an answer script almost allegedly re-written outside the examination centre, under special arrangement.

Sources privy to script assessment of the HSC annual examinations, currently carried out at the Sir Syed Girls College centre, said that during scrutiny, a co-examiner found an answer script rewritten by a candidate after removing major portion of the pages originally written in the examination room.

It is suspected that the candidate in question was also provided with a copy of the solutions of mathematics paper-I, issued only to co-examiners with printed instructions and marking advises just a couple of days before assessment.

The student was so much at ease that in his hunt for maximum marks, he also wrote down some irrelevant details, which were meant for reading by the co-examiners only, added a source, claiming that some more cases of this nature could be found as well after proper investigation.

It was learnt that the script in question had earned 98 marks from the co-examiner. The teachers and examiners believe that the official solution paper was delivered to the said candidate, under a peculiar dealing, by some staffer of the educational board during a period between July 14 and July 19.

In the meantime, a letter to the chairman BIE by the head examiner of mathematics paper-1, with the answer script in question and remarks of the co-examiner, was delivered at the board in a separate envelope on Monday evening.

In the letter, the examiner mentioned that after examining the coded script referred to him by the co-examiner, he found that page number 1 was re-written with an ink pen, while an ink remover was used on almost all other pages and rewritten by a ballpoint pen.

Referring to details of the scripts, assessed on July 19, the head examiner pointed out that probably the candidate had benefited from the set of solutions and guidelines which were given to co-examiners for the purpose of assessment.

When contacted at around 3pm on Tuesday, the chairman of BIE, Prof Iftikhar H Zaidi, said he had not received any such complaint or envelope from the head examiner, but had, however, been informed about the problem over telephone by some quarters.

"If the matter is brought to my knowledge, I will certainly look into the problem in accordance with the board's rules," he concluded. However, a source in the board maintained that the use of ink removers by candidates for rewriting was not new.

It could also be alleged that candidates were facilitated by people out side the board, he added. It was learnt that the chairman finally talked to the controller of examinations on the issue late in the evening and sought his comments as well.

As per the board's rules of unfair means, the candidate in question could be failed in the said paper and debarred from appearing in BIE's exams in future, if found guilty.

Sources in the educational circles, however, were of the view that the board's chairman should have ordered an enquiry into the matter immediately, as the findings of examiners were serious in nature and questioned the credibility of BIE conducted examinations.