Mumbai: From next year, all exams conducted by the state govt will be held online, school education minister Dada Bhuse announced in the Maharashtra assembly on Monday. A committee has been formed under state chief secretary Rajesh Agarwal to create the necessary infrastructure to conduct online examinations. Bhuse added that all those found guilty in the TET paper leak case will be tried under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) after making appropriate changes in the law.Brijkishor Zanwar, public relations officer for the school education department, said “the committee has been formed to look into how all exams like the TET conducted by various departments and ministries can be conducted online.”The TET examination, scheduled for Sunday, was postponed on Saturday, after the alleged paper leak surfaced.Speaking on the paper leak, BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar in the assembly asked why the question papers were printed in Agra when currency notes are printed in Nashik, demanding that all question papers be printed within Maharashtra. He alleged that outsiders were involved and no Maharashtrians were part of the leak.Bhuse said the state govt was serious about the matter and an SIT has been formed and three teams have been sent outside the state – one to Delhi, two to Bihar and one to Haryana – to probe the crime.Earlier in the day, the opposition held a demonstration outside the state assembly demanding the resignation of state education minister Dada Bhuse.Congress legislator Vijay Wadettiwar alleged in the assembly that “the main accused in the TET case (at the time of the TET paper leak in 2018), Abhishek Savrikar, was involved in a similar case but was given respectful entry into the ruling party.”Wadettiwar stated that the paper leaks have affected six lakh teachers and hurt the state’s reputation.Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Bhaskar Jadhav said, “The reputation of Maharashtra is suffering because of paper leaks. Even in the NEET exam, seven of the 11 accused were from Maharashtra.”On the setting up of the committee, Madhav Suryavanshi of the Shikshan Vikas Manch at the Yashwantrao Chavan Centre stated, “Such committees are always set up and they are only a mirage to show the govt is doing something. Similarly, in 2018, the TET paper was leaked, a committee was formed, and reports were prepared, yet nothing came of it and we are back in the same place. Fundamentally what needs to happen is that the paper-setters need to change. They have been the same for years. Also, a multi-set system of question papers should be created each year for better security.”
