India removes exam chief over marking fiasco

New Delhi: Indian authorities have removed top education bosses from the exam board after marking failures in tests taken by nearly two million high school students sparked outrage and calls for protests. The controversy, after the board acknowledged cybersecurity vulnerabilities in a digital marking system, is the latest to rock India's examination system, sparking mounting criticism of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The board's chairman Rahul Singh and secretary Himanshu Gupta were transferred to other government departments, according to an order issued late Tuesday. Anger at the CBSE erupted last month when 19-year-old cybersecurity researcher Nisarga Adhikary alleged that weaknesses in a new marking system could compromise grading. Around 1.8 million students took the CBSE 12th grade examination this year, the final test before graduating. The CBSE said the online marking system, deployed this year, was aimed at increasing "accuracy and efficiency" of results. But many students said it had assigned incorrect grades or issued results to the wrong students. The CBSE said it has "contained" vulnerabilities identitied and launched a re-evaluation portal for students complaining of incorrect grades. Call for protests But anger has mounted. Young Indians are pressing for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, while online satirical group, the "Cockroach People's Party", has called for peaceful protests on Saturday in New Delhi. Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old Boston University graduate behind the online movement, said he would return to India to lead a demonstration. The parody "Cockroach Janta Party" (CJP) -- echoing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- has won millions of followers on social media since its launch last month. Sonam Wangchuk, 59, a prominent activist from India's Ladakh region, who spent six months in detention after being arrested in September following deadly protests demanding autonomy for the Himalayan territory, has said he will join the protests. The controversy follows a separate examination scandal last month, when authorities scrapped the nationwide medical college entrance exam after investigators uncovered a question paper leak. Indian media reported suicides of teenagers following the fiasco over the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), one of the country's most competitive exams and attracting millions of candidates. The exam has been rescheduled for later this month. India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested the "kingpin" it alleged was behind the leak, naming him as a chemistry lecturer involved in the examination process on behalf of the National Testing Agency (NTA).