Class X supplementary: Only 7 of 480 cheats pass retest

AHMEDABAD: Only seven of the 480 class X students who were failed in one subject -after they were suspected to be involved in mass-cheating -have cleared the supplementary exam. Of the seven, only two scored passing marks; five had to be given five grace marks to help them cross the passing line.
In all, 850 students from seven centres in Lunawada, Dahod, and Morbi were suspected to be involved in mass-cheating.They scored extremely well in the objective section, posting 4550 marks but scored only 110 marks in the descriptive papers. In the supplementary exam, the students were given simple addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication exercises. Most failed miserably , confirming the doubts of the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board that the students had indeed copied.
Of the 850 students, 512 qualified to appear for the supplementary exam. In all, 480 students appeared for the exam. Examination secretary Bhanubhai Panchal said, “We think that the students were helped by somebody in answering the objective section.“ The officer on special duty of the class X board exams, M M Pathan, said that the examination in centres in the three districts where mass-cheating was suspected will be cancelled.
It needs mention here that there is no proof that the students had cheated. The CCTV footage did not reveal anything fishy. Board authorities suspect that teachers or some other people had dictated answers to the students from outside the classrooms to evade CCTVs. Since there was no audio coverage, such an act was not recorded.