Punjab minister discloses sale of exam centres for Rs80,000

LAHORE: Punjab’s Minister of Education, Rana Sikandar Hayat, has disclosed that matriculation examination centres have been sold for Rs80,000 each across the province.

Talking to the media following raids on various matriculation examination centres in Lahore, he revealed that the paper mafia had issued threats and lucrative offers. He sternly warned against allowing Punjab to descend into a situation akin to that of Sindh and Karachi. Hayat reported the arrest of 30 individuals thus far, promising to expose major players imminently.

Hyat emphasized their efforts to tighten the noose around the mafia through the apprehended individuals. He noted an advance disclosure of a leaked mathematics paper, underscoring the purchase of centres by private school mafia to manipulate student scores.

The provincial education minister revealed that examination centres had illicitly profited across the board, with rates per paper ranging from Rs4,000 to Rs7,000. He implicated even the board chairman and the controller of examinations in the wrongdoing, alleging the latter permitted private individuals to serve as invigilators.

Hayat asserted the involvement of a significant and organized group in the paper trade. While previously unchallenged, he expressed gratitude for Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s unprecedented stance against them.

Moreover, Hayat alleged the complicity of private schools in the nefarious activities. He claimed that the private school mafia had procured centres to manipulate children’s grades, exerting influence over controllers in every district.

Meanwhile, Punjab School Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat, accompanied by BISE chairman and other officials, conducted a raid on GHS MI Happy School National Town Sanda following reports of cheating during the ongoing Matric exams.

A spokesperson for the minister stated that the team, led by the minister, apprehended several students in the act of cheating and discovered instances of paper swapping.

Promptly, the minister took decisive action, apprehending counterfeit candidates and implicated staff. With over 300 students partaking in the exams at the centre, the minister emphasized a zero-tolerance policy towards cheating, vowing stringent measures against all involved parties.

Subsequently, the centre was sealed, and the minister directed the BISE chairman to implement enhanced supervision protocols at examination centres, the spokesperson said.