11 lakh students suffer as engineering entrance question paper leaks

Updated on: Tuesday, May 03, 2011

The tenth edition of the annual All India Engineering Entrance Exam was put off by two-and-a-half hours across the country after the question paper leaked in Lucknow early on Sunday. It taxed its 11.18 lakh takers a lot more than it intended to; for, by the time they put pen to paper at noon, they were bent out of shape and sapped of all energy.

Touted as India’s largest entrance exam, the AIEEE, which was to start at 09:30 am, was pushed to noon after a copy of the question paper by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force was faxed to the CBSE head. “We received the fax at 07:30 am. We matched our question paper with the fax we had received. As soon as we realised that the two papers matched, we started informing all the centres about the leak,” said Vineet Joshi, chairman of the Central Board for Secondary Education which conducts the AIEEE. In UP, the director general of police (special) Brij Lal said raids were conducted in Lucknow, Kanpur and parts of Bihar to nab those responsible for the leak. The paper was being sold for as much as Rs 6 lakhs.

Full of holes

May 1997: A copy of the math test paper was faxed to the IIT Delhi director’s office by an unidentified person an hour before the exam, forcing the IITs to call off the exam. A fresh JEE was held two months later.

Nov 2003: The Common Admission Test conducted by the IIMs was cancelled after the CBI arrested seven touts for their role in leaking the paper. A re-exam was held.

May 2009: The Common Law Admission Test that decides admission to national law schools was cancelled following a paper leak. The material was evidently tampered with while it was in transit from Hyderabad to Lucknow via courier.

11 lakh students suffer as engineering entrance question paper leaks

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