An error-ridden question paper for primary school examination in Kendrapara. Telegraph picture

Kendrapara, April 21: Schoolchildren, who appeared in the recently concluded assessment examinations, were left confused because of a number of mistakes in their question papers.

They alleged that the question papers did not carry questions related to the scheduled subjects. In Oriya papers, there were questions on social studies, while in science papers, they were asked to do mathematical calculations. By and large, all questions prepared by a committee of experts contained glaring mistakes in some form or the other.

Majority of the question papers were replete with spelling mistakes. Even the total marks for each paper fell short of 100. Children of the age group of 4 to 14 years had appeared for the annual assessment examination in government-run primary, upper-primary and high schools of the district.

The Centre-funded Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan had shouldered the responsibility of preparing the text of the questions and it’s printing for Rs 16 lakh. But government’s money has gone down the drains.

“The very purpose of testing students’ academic skills stands defeated by this sort of erroneous questions. It’s symptomatic of the steady downslide of government-run primary and secondary education system,” said academician Basudev Das.

The district administration has ordered an inquiry into the issue.

“It was all mixed up. The printed questions were full of errors, which left students puzzled. It was misleading for both the teachers and students. Such inconsistencies would further damage the image of government schools,” said Sabita Pati, a retired teacher.

District project coordinator of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Sanatan Mallick, admitted that there were mistakes in some question papers. “The fault lies with the private company that was awarded the contract of printing the question papers,” he said.

“The authorities have been asked to submit a detailed report stating the circumstances that had led to the slip-up. An inquiry is also being conducted into the issue,” said Akuli Charan Bhuyan, collector in-charge, Kendrapara.