PU Board to hire pvt detective agency to curb malpractices

Bangalore, Mar 13 (UNI) The Karnataka Pre-University Board, for the first time, will hire private detective agencies to curb malpractices during its second year examinations, to be held from March 29 to April 16, Board Commissioner S G Hegde disclosed today.

Talking to newspersons here, he said these agencies would be active in 70 hyper sensitive and 90 sensitive examination centres.

Besides, special police squads would be deployed and steps would be taken to videograph these centres during exams.

To a question, he said hiring private detective agencies was meant to improve the performance and it did not mean that the staff were inefficient.

Last year, 1,083 malpractices were detected and 46 staff members were booked for dereliction of duty and issued notices to return their remuneration.

Mr Hegde said supervisors and other staff would be held responsible for any malpractice reported in their room and permission for conducting examinations in such schools in future would be cancelled.

He warned that the staff deployed on examination duty, including supervising, invigilation and valuation, should report to duty, failing which they would attract action under section 28 of the Education Act, 1983. The punishment included stoppage of increment payment and severe punishment after departmental inquiry.

The process of collecting internal assessment marks had been completed. Altogether, 4,94,212 students, including 2,07,044 girls, were appearing for the exams this year, he said.

UNI