BSEB cancels Class 10 Social Science exam due to paper leak; reexamination on 8 March

The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) cancelled the Class 10 Social Science exam after its first session on Friday, 19 February. The board had to cancel the board exam paper after it was verified that the Social Science paper was leaked before the exam in Jamui district. According to media reports, the exam is now set to be conducted again on 8 March, 2021. As many as 8,46,504 students had appeared for the BSEB Class 10 Social Science exam 2021 in the first shift on Friday. The paper was leaked when it was circulated via messaging app WhatsApp. The board has conducted preliminary investigation and found that a contractual staffer of the State Bank of India, Jhajha branch, had sent the paper to their relative who was set to appear in the secondary board exam. Investigation is ongoing. Times of India cited an official statement sent out by the BSEB to state that once the education board had come across the information that the paper had been leaked, the authorities had asked the Jamui district magistrate (DM) and Superintendent of Police (SP) to look into the matter. The DM and SP of Jamui district then conducted a joint investigation and their report pinpointed the location of the question paper leak from SBI’s Jhajha branch. The employee of the branch had reportedly shared the photographs of the paper before the examination in the morning and circulated them through WhatsApp. Once the initial probe report was submitted, BSEB ordered to lodge an FIR thereafter. Three staff of the SBI Jhajha branch were arrested by Jamui police late in the evening, the report further said. Candidates set to appear in the reexamination on 8 March are advised to visit the official site of the Bihar education board at http://biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in to stay updated about the exam.