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UPSR leak puts exam process to the test

HOW do public examination papers get leaked? The procedure from setting examination questions to delivering examination papers to schools is an exhaustive, lengthy and painstaking process of checks and balances.

Everyone involved in the examination procedure has to take a vow and sign a pledge to the Official Secrets Act. The Examinations Syndicate takes many precautions and measures to prevent leakages.

Yet, year after year, we have leakages before examinations.

Such leakages weaken the authenticity and trustworthiness of our examination procedures.

It also costs the government a lot of money, time and effort to reset leaked papers.

Students are affected mentally and emotionally.

The examination questions for the 2014 paper would have been formulated and set in 2010 or 2011.

Senior and experienced teachers and education officers are selected and appointed to set the examination papers.

These teachers are quarantined and placed at the Examination Board for a week. They are screened each time they leave the complex.

The teachers prepare two or three sets of papers for each examination subject for that year.

The teachers would not know which questions or sets are
selected for the examination
year. This selection is done by a select few senior and high-ranking Examinations Syndicate officers.

The selected papers are vetted and printed at the Examinations Syndicate.

Then, the papers are sealed and packaged and sent to State Education Departments, which keep them in their strong room.

Invigilators for the schools will take the examination papers from the state Education Department or district education offices on the examination day and head for their schools.

The chief examination invigilator has to cut the seal and package in front of students in the hall or classroom to demonstrate that the paper has not been tampered with.

Any examination packages short of papers or tampered with will be reported to the department and students will be quarantined.

The whole process will take
two to three years in formulation, setting, vetting, printing and packaging of examination papers. Even so, with such precautions and checks and balances in place, it is a wonder how examination papers still get leaked.

Samuel Yesuiah, Seremban, Negri Sembilan

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