Belagavi: Tension prevailed at a private school that was holding an entrance exam for Sainik school admissions after parents found “some aspirants leaving the campus with question papers in their hand”.
Manjeet Jain, principal of Jain Heritage School (JHS) and also the exam coordinator, denied any wrongdoings. He said two children were summoned to his chamber for testing temperature as their parents received a message from a school saying their children had come into contact with classmates who have tested positive for Covid. “After finding their temperatures normal, I sent the children to the regular hall. We have CCTV footage of them leaving my office,” he said, adding the exam was conducted fairly between 2pm and 5pm.
The drama unfolded at the school located near Udyambag around 1.20pm when Shashidhar Kurer, administrative officer of Command Area Development Authority, entered the campus in his government vehicle. His daughter was also an aspirant.
Vishwanath, father of a candidate, told TOI that Kurer went inside the school even after the examination authorities had sent the parents out. A few minutes later, four students were seen coming out carrying question papers, the parents alleged.
He further said when Kurer came out, they stopped him and began to question. Vishwanath said: “Kurer defended saying that his daughter has Covid-19 symptoms and he came here to inform the same to the authorities. He left the campus,” he said, adding some students who were standing outside were sent in and made to take the exam separately.
Basavaraj, another parent, said four students of government officials were given preferential treatment, raising suspicion of malpractice.
Rejecting the allegations, Kurer said he visited the school after the school, where his daughter is studying, informed him about her classmates testing Covid positive. “I came on a government vehicle as I had some official work. I came to speak to the exam superintendent about Covid protocol as my daughter too had complained of symptoms. We have not tested her,” he added.
“As my daughter was unwell, I decided to take her home. Allegations of my daughter leaving the campus with question papers are untrue,” he said.
Block education officer Ravi Bhajantri said two aspirants have been disqualified and investigation will be launched to find out whether there was any malpractice during the exam.
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