Here's why the CBSE news briefing was a sham

The HRD ministry's School Education and Literacy secretary and the chairperson of the CBSE held a briefing on Friday to announce re-examination dates for the board exam papers that were leaked. 

WATCH: CBSE Makes Re-examination Announcement For Class 10 And 12. Details And Dates Here

At the outset, the secretary announced that the purpose of the briefing was two-fold: to announce dates and to ascertain what had gone wrong. In terms of the latter, the briefing was nothing short of what is being seen as a sham for millions of worried students, posing more questions than were answered. Here are 7 reasons why it was a sham: 

FEW CULPRITS, LAKHS DUMPED WITH MORE PRESSURE

If students of Class XII were expecting some respite during one of the most trying periods of their lives, their hopes were quickly dashed. There was no mention of finding a solution where lakhs of students across India didn't pay the price for the ill-deeds of a few. 

IN A DIGITAL AGE, CAN LEAKS BE LIMITED TO GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS? 

Given the leaked papers were passed around using WhatsApp, how did preliminary inquiries come to reveal that the Class X Maths paper leak only happened in Delhi and Haryana? What if subsequent inquiries reveal its geographic scope was wider?

HRD secretary Anil Swarup also said there was no information of leaks outside of India. Was this based on convenience or has it really been ruled out completely?

IT LAID OUT A LONG-DRAWN AGONISING PROCESS 

With the re-test for Class XII students being several weeks away, hasn’t the “solution” only further dumped students with additional long-drawn stress? 

And with July at least three months away, if a Class X Maths re-exam is required, how are the students expected to cope psychologically with such a big exam hanging over their heads?

THE SHIELDING OF THE CBSE CHIEF 

Why was the HRD secretary clearly shielding a person as senior as the CBSE chairperson? Is the CBSE chairperson not capable of answering on a topic that is the bread-butter of her domain?

NO ANSWER ON SPECIFICS 

Why was no information provided about whether or not there is a spike in reports of 'leaks', whether real or not? Is it normal or abnormal to have reports of these many 'leaks'?

Given there was a significant time gap between exams, was the CBSE proactive in its approach to prevent leaks? For example, did rumours of the Class XII Accountancy paper leak on March 15 cause the CBSE to tighten its process?

NO ASSURANCE ON BETTER SECURITY 

Does the CBSE not have a streamlined process for protecting itself from leaks? Shouldn't it be able to isolate where a leak originated, especially given that information was received before the exam day?

NO FIXING OF ACCOUNTABILITY

Despite a nationwide outcry and unanimous calls for heads to roll over the shocking and significant breach affecting lakhs of impressionable students, why has no accountability been fixed? No matter who the culprits are, the paper, and hence the leak, originated from the CBSE and its process. Should the bigwigs involved be allowed to wait for an inquiry before we see someone besides students and parents paying the price?