The Institute of Engineering (IoE), under the Tribhuvan University, on Monday decided to cancel entrance examinations for Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Architecture held on August 11 after an investigation proved leakage of question papers.

An IoE board meeting took this decision after an investigation by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) proved the leakage and submitted its report.

This is the first time in the history of IoE that the entrance papers were leaked. With the cancellation of entrance examinations, more than 11,000 students will have to sit through another test scheduled for September 15.

The CIB on August 23 had arrested nine students, including Niraj Chaudhary, Karan Chaurasiya, Raj Kumar Raut, Amit Kumar Yadav, Rajib Chaulagain, Ram Binaya Yadav and Manoj Yadav, in connection with the leak of question papers prior to the entrance examinations. All the arrestees hail from Siraha district.

“Our investigation has proved that question papers were leaked prior to the entrance examinations. We have submitted our preliminary report proving this,” said DIG Upendra Kant Aryal, chief of the CIB. “The final investigation will provide a detailed picture of monetary dealings involved.” Aryal also claimed that police is close to tracing the mastermind behind the incident.

The investigation found that question papers were leaked while being dispatched from the printing press to the IoE administration. When photocopies of the handwritten question papers were found before the exam, irate students vandalised the dean's office. According to sources, original question papers were sold for Rs 1 to Rs 1.5 million while students obtained photocopies for around Rs 10,000 each.

Though the IoE had formed a five-member committee to investigate the matter, it was dissolved after student unions demanded an independent team, arguing that the committee would not be able to probe senior officials, including the dean. The student unions claimed that question papers were sold to a number of entrance preparation institutions and demanded resignation of IoE Dean Bharat Pahari on moral grounds.

The IoE and the Institute of Medicine are among the most reputed academic institutions in South Asia. Hundreds of students are selected for engineering scholarships at various colleges across the country based on their scores of IoE entrance examinations.

source:The Kathmandu Post,4 Sept 2012