Question papers for the Grade 12 examinations held in April and May were found to have been sent via email, according to a government report, which says there was sheer negligence on the part of some officials, who undermined the sensitivity and secrecy of the examination.

Following reports that the Central Examination Board, earlier called the Higher Secondary Education Board, flouted examination norms, the government had formed a probe committee led by Hari Prasad Lamsal, a joint secretary at the Ministry of Education, to investigate into the matter.

The report, a copy of which has been obtained by the Post, has said the department of examination under the CIB flouted the rule and recommended action against eight officials including Examination Controller Santosh Kumar Aryal. The committee had found question papers were sent via email to as many as 139 centres. “As the act of sending question papers through email has tainted the image of the CEB and raised question over the secrecy and sensitivity of the examination, the involved officials have to be booked as per the existing legal provisions,” reads the report, which, however, stops short of recommending the type of action the officials in question should face.

The Grade 12 examinations were held between April 23 and May 5 at 990 centres across the country.

A total of 1,494,624 units of question papers were needed for nearly 1,000 examination centres, but erring on the side of caution, the CEB had printed 1,840,400 sets of question papers at the Janak Sikshya Samagri Kendra. The CEB had secured 373,070 units of question papers at the central office as a contingency. It had placed 41 officials on standby in case there was a need to ferry the question papers. Rs294,000 was also released in advance for the purpose.

But despite all the preparations, soft copies of question papers, which must reach the exam centres physically, were sent via email, according to the report.

The probe committee has found that Govinda Pandey, chief of the computer department, was responsible for the act, as he did not verify the number of students and the subjects they were pursuing.

The probe committee has also recommended action against Krishna Prasad Ghimire and Uttam Dev Bista, deputy examination controllers, and section officers Puskar Khanal, Subhash Bastola, Janardan Bastola and Ramesh Chandra Neupane.

When asked, Examination Controller Aryal, who has been transferred from the CEB following the incident, told the Post that “this is not the first time question papers were sent through email.” He claimed that “we were forced to do so for the lack of availability of actual information on the examinees and the subjects they were appearing in the exams for”. According to Aryal, question papers of some optional subjects, which are taken by only a few students, were sent via email.