Addressing paper leak: Bihar to set up expert committee under judge for exam reforms

The Bihar government has formed a five-member expert committee, led by a serving or retired judge, to address examination reforms and solve paper leak issues. This development follows a mere month of student protests in New Delhi and parts of Bihar, which led to the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The committee will have three months to submit its report, focusing on secondary school, university, competitive, and entrance tests.

The General Administration Department (GAD), under Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, issued a notification to establish the "Expert Committee on Examination Reforms." This panel's responsibility will include reviewing the examination framework and recommending comprehensive reforms across state examination bodies, universities, and recruitment agencies. The committee will look into institutional structures, infrastructure, roles for boards and district administration, and accountability systems in each stage of the process.

The committee will also set time limits for various stages, from advertisement to result publication to re-evaluation. In terms of examination security, the committee will conduct end-to-end audits, covering question paper creation, biometric authentication, CCTV surveillance, invigilator deployment, answer book handling, transportation, storage, scanning, result processing, and more.

Guidelines will be established for a clear chain of custody protocol for question papers and answer books, along with tamper-proof packaging, encrypted transmission, and geo-tagging.

The committee's objective is to strengthen examination reliability and public trust, and stop leaks, impersonation, cheating, mass copying, manipulation, and other examination malpractices. It will also ensure examinations are conducted on time with results published within stipulated timelines, maintaining transparency and accountability. Additionally, the committee must ensure appropriate use of digital technology, data analytics, AI, and cyber security tools while maintaining human supervision and data security.