The Assam State School Education Board (ASSEB) has cancelled the Class XI examinations scheduled between March 24 and 29 over a suspected question paper leak.
The development has also triggered demands for the removal of Board chairman R.C. Jain and the resignation of education minister Ranoj Pegu.
On Saturday, Pegu had announced on X: “Due to reports of a question paper leak and a breach of protocol, the remaining subjects of the HS First Year Examination 2025 (Class XI examination, scheduled from March 24–29) stand cancelled. Further action will be decided in the Board meeting on March 24.”
Pegu also uploaded the ASSEB order, signed by Ranjan Kumar Das, in-charge controller of examinations, cancelling the examinations. The decision was driven by reports of the “alleged leakage” of the mathematics paper on March 20, a day before the examination, leading to its postponement.
The ASSEB disclosed that all inspectors of schools and principals of lead colleges had returned the sealed packets containing the mathematics question paper, as per the board’s instructions. However, their reports revealed that some institutions had opened the sealed packets on March 20, even though the examination was scheduled for the second session on March 21.
Since the mathematics question paper packets were opened without permission, the board presumed that leaks of the remaining question papers could not be ruled out, as all the question papers for the remaining subjects were in the “custody” of the institutions where the examinations were being held.
The board has suspended the affiliation of 15 private schools across 10 districts for “unauthorisedly” breaking the seal of the question paper packets before the scheduled date and time of the examination, leading to the suspected paper leak. A total of 18 institutions had violated protocol — three of them being government/provincialised schools.
“The state government will take action against the three provincialised schools for violating the rules in a similar manner. FIRs are being lodged, and these schools are barred from admitting Class XI students for 2025–26,” Pegu said. The board has also lodged a complaint with the state CID to probe the matter.
A board official told The Telegraph that the decision will impact about 20 subjects, including modern Indian language, biology, education, logic and philosophy, geography, geology, computer science, anthropology, and sociology. The mathematics exam had to be postponed after someone shared a portion of the question paper that was “identical” to the one sent by the board to institutions.
All Assam Students’ Union president Utpal Sarma told this newspaper: “We have a new name for the Board (ASSEB) following the merger of the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (Seba), and the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) last year, but its functioning has not changed. When the government holds school principals accountable for their institutions’ performance, will it also make the ASSEB chairman liable for these lapses?”
The Opposition Congress blasted the BJP-led state government for failing to prevent repeated lapses leading to alleged question paper leaks. The Assam PCC will stage a dharna before the ASSEB office on Monday, demanding Jain’s removal and Pegu’s resignation.
SFI’s Sangita Das also demanded Pegu’s resignation, Jain’s suspension, and a high-level probe into the matter.