HT Digital
GUWAHATI, Feb 21: A forged Higher Secondary (HS) Chemistry question paper has been circulating on social media, causing panic and distress among students sitting for their exams. The forged document, which presented itself as the authentic question paper, caused fear of misinformation at a critical time in the academic calendar.
Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu responded to the issue on X (formerly Twitter), firmly rejecting the document as “FAKE.” He posted a picture of the fake paper and made it clear that the real Chemistry exam paper for the day would not be pink. Minister Pegu asked students and parents to ignore the fake information and look only to official channels for updates related to the exam.
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The incident has brought to the fore the increasing worry about the spread of misinformation during exam periods. The authorities have stepped up surveillance on social media sites to avoid the dissemination of misleading information that may generate panic among students. Minister Pegu assured all that the examination process is safe and that appropriate precautions are being implemented to maintain the integrity of the exams.
He encouraged the students to concentrate on their studies without being swayed by such misleading information. In the meantime, the Assam Higher Secondary (HS) Final Examination 2025 began on February 13, with 3,06,925 students sitting for the exams in the state. The exam timetable was split into two shifts— morning session from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and afternoon session from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM.
For ensuring justice and avoiding malpractice, all the examination centers were provided with CCTV cameras, and a separate control room was established to view them in real time. Severe measures were taken to ensure order, such as the application of Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which barred unauthorized people from entering within 100 meters of the examination centers. 856 centers designated to carry out the exams were under tight supervision.
Of the candidates appearing for the exams, the Arts stream was the largest with 2,30,091 students. The Science stream was next with 57,724 students, followed by 17,869 students appearing for the Commerce stream and 1,241 candidates appearing for the Vocational Education category. Interestingly, the number of female students (1,62,423) appearing for the exams outnumbered the number of male students (1,44,502).
This event is a reminder of the need to cross-check information from reliable sources, particularly in the midst of important academic occasions. As the exams go on, students are urged to remain alert and rely only on official reports to avoid unnecessary confusion.
