FROM DREAMS TO TEARS

Jorhat, March 4: Around 10,000 answer scripts of the High School Leaving Certificate examination were destroyed in an early morning fire at Sankardev Seminary High School here today.

Expressing concern, state education minister Sarat Borkataky told mediapersons in Guwahati that re-examination would be held for students whose answer scripts had been burnt.

Seba chairman Dhandev Mahanta announced in Guwahati that those who wished to take the examination again could do so and those who did not would be given marks based on the average of marks received in the other five papers.

Seba secretary Kamal Jyoti Gogoi, who arrived here from Guwahati, said board members would take a decision tomorrow on the steps to be taken.

Mahanta told reporters that of the 449 packets kept in the school, 98 packets, having more than 8,000 answer scripts, had been destroyed. "About 20 per cent of the 58,000 answer scripts have been destroyed in the fire. For reasons of confidentiality, we would not like to disclose to which districts these answer scripts belonged to," he added.

The high school, one of the oldest schools here, served as an evaluation centre for the examination conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam, commonly known as the Secondary Education Board of Assam (Seba).

Smoke was first spotted emerging from the windows of the school library by Pinky Kakoti, wife of the school watchman, Bipul Kakoti, around 6.30am. She immediately called up the headmistress and with her permission broke open two locks - one on the entrance door and the other on a flexible iron grille inside - and retrieved as many answer scripts as she could while her family and those who had gathered at the spot doused the fire with buckets of water.

Jorhat deputy commissioner Solanki Vishal Vasant said they suspected sabotage as there was no evidence of a short-circuit. He said it was likely that a burning match or a similar object was thrown in from one of the ventilators as the packets kept on the floor near the ventilator were more affected. He admitted a lapse in security and did not rule out the hand of an insider.

One of the teachers hinted that there was a strong lobby in the school against the headmistress, Binu Gogoi Borbaruah, who had taken charge in February 2013. Another source said it could be a political ploy to malign the image of the Congress, especially chief minister Tarun Gogoi, in his home district before the polls.

The school authorities have registered a case at Jorhat police station.

Gogoi ordered a CID probe into the incident and asked additional chief secretary (home) T.Y. Das to do the needful. He also directed the principal secretary, education, Paban Kumar Borthakur, to submit a detailed report on the incident immediately. The district administration has also ordered a magisterial inquiry. A detailed police probe, including forensic aspects, will also be conducted.

Jorhat MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa demanded a judicial probe into the incident.

A source said according to Seba rules, after answer scripts arrive at an evaluation centre, there should be three guards posted there during the day and two at night till the evaluation is over. However, such centres usually do this after the process starts, a teacher of the school said on condition of anonymity.

Solanki said following the incident, round-the-clock police pickets have been placed at evaluation centres across the state.

As the news spread across the district, parents, supporters of political parties like the BJP and student organisations like the All Assam Students Union (AASU), Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), Students' Federation of India and the Assam Tea Tribes Students' Association protested in front of the school's gates, demanding removal of the heads of Seba, the education minister, the school's headmistress, the deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police for lapse in security and for playing with students' careers.

AASU locked up the regional office of Seba, which was opened here last year, and burnt the effigy of the education minister. The AJYCP filed an FIR against the Seba secretary, Seba regional officer, Jorhat, J. Gogoi, inspector of schools Hiren Gogoi and the school's headmistress.

President of Jorhat district Karmachari Parishad Nripen Bhuyan, the organising secretary of Assam High School Teachers' Association, Ratul Burahgohain, president of Madhyamik Sikshak Karmachari Sanstha, Jorhat district, Budhindra Nath Hazarika, and president of District High School Teachers' Association Diganta Rajkhowa condemned the laxity, security lapse and negligence of school authorities and sought punishment for the guilty.

The Bodo Sahitya Sabha "strongly" condemned the incident, demanded arrest of the person in charge of the examination centre, removal of the Seba chairman and secretary by tomorrow and appointment of IAS officers at the helm of Seba affairs.