GUWAHATI, March 17 (PTI): With two tests of the state board-conducted Class 10 exams cancelled within a week following leak of question papers, education minister Ranoj Pegu on Friday asserted that the entire examination system will be analysed and rectified.

Admitting that there are “lapses in the system”, he said the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) has to figure out where the problems are and take corrective measures.

“We have to rectify it together,” Pegu told reporters here.

Days after the general science question paper leak of the Class 10 state board exam, the Assamese paper also got leaked, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said on Thursday evening.

“All the Modern Indian Language (MIL) subject papers, including English, which were to be held tomorrow, have been cancelled as a precautionary step, as one of the accused revealed about leaking the Assamese question paper. The new dates will be announced by SEBA today,” Pegu said.

In Karbi Anglong, West Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts, students study English (in lieu) instead of MIL Assamese.

In addition to Assamese, the other MIL subjects are Bengali, Bodo, Hindi, Manipuri, Hmar, Nepali, Mizo, Khasi, Garo, Karbi and Urdu.

The general science question paper of the Class 10 matriculation exam was leaked on Sunday night, and the exam scheduled on Monday was cancelled thereafter.

According to a SEBA notification, the examination for the subject will now be held on March 30.

Meanwhile, reacting to the latest report of the paper leak, opposition Congress said the episode has brought the entire matric examination process under the scanner.

“Not only Assamese, every paper of HSLC exam seems to be under scanner. CM @himantabiswa, Education Minister @ranojpeguassam must be ashamed of themselves, take responsibility for this fiasco & resign. Horrific how @BJP4Assam Govt can play with the lives of lakhs of students,” the party said on Twitter.

Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi also hit out at the government, claiming that such problems are bound to happen under a “bulldozer regime”.

“Shameful that the State Government has been unable to conduct an exam. Education and other crucial aspects of development are bound to suffer under a bulldozer regime,” he tweeted.

“Is it truly a conspiracy to destroy the Assamese vernacular medium?” said Independent legislator Akhil Gogoi.

Protests were staged in front of the Luhit Khabalu High School in Majuli, whose head teacher is suspected to be the mastermind in the case.

Locals gathered near the school in the morning and raised slogans.

Meanwhile, noisy scenes prevailed in the Assam Assembly on Friday over the leak of question papers for class 10 state board examinations with the opposition demanding a statement from the government, which rejected the call.

Immediately after the Question Hour, Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia raised the matter in the House and asked the government to come out with a statement.

“Yesterday again, one more paper was leaked. So far, the government has said General Science and Assamese papers have been leaked. There are allegations that Mathematics and English papers were leaked as well. Have all papers been leaked?” he asked.

Parliamentary affairs minister Pijush Hazarika condemned the leak and said the mastermind has been nabbed within three days.

“We are also taking steps so that such incidents never recur in the future. The CM has already made a statement in the assembly yesterday. I do not think there is a need to give any more statements,” he added.

When Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha pointed out that the CM had accepted the failure of the government, Hazarika and other members of the treasury opposed the statement.

This led to a noisy scene, followed by a verbal duel between Purkayastha and Hazarika.

After this, Pegu said, “Yesterday, the CM said police have arrested the mastermind, who confessed to leaking the General Science paper. He also told the police that the Assamese paper was taken away, but burnt it before leaking it.”