GURGAON: With Haryana’s Class 12 board exams just three weeks away, a chemistry teacher has alleged a question paper leak after students she has taught for years posted unusually high scores in the ongoing pre-boards – including near-perfect performances in a paper widely seen as “tough”.

The teacher said nearly 80% of students answered all multiple-choice questions correctly in the chemistry paper held on Jan 30. “I have a fair idea about the capacity of each of my students. I was very surprised when almost all MCQs in chemistry were answered correctly by many of the students. It was a tough paper,” she said, adding that no copying was reported at any centre.

The pattern did not hold up when students were questioned beyond the paper. “When I asked a few students to tell me the answers to the same questions by changing the value, they could not. They were also not able to recall the formula,” the teacher said.

Eventually, some of the students referred to a YouTube channel that often uploaded question paper “suggestions”.

The teacher claimed she found large portions of the chemistry paper closely matched the content uploaded a day earlier on the Mahendergarh-based YouTube channel – Education Party – which has over one lakh subscribers and is run by a private tutor, Gautam Sharma. Further checks, she alleged, showed the English pre-board paper (Jan 28) and physics paper (Feb 2) also mirrored the same source, with nearly 90% of the questions matching.

Comments on the channel’s videos added to the concern. Under the uploads, some wrote “same paper aaya tha, thank you sir (it was the same paper, thank you, sir)” and “sach mein, aaj physics ke paper mein the same exact questions aaye the. Sir, you are great. Thank you, sir (it’s true, the physics paper had the exact questions)”.

The teacher said the rection of students, taken together with the similarity in questions, pointed to a paper leak. “This is a clear sign of a paper leak. But that’s not the end. The YouTuber has claimed he will produce even the main board exam papers if his subscriber base increases”.

Contacted by TOI, the channel’s owner, Gautam Sharma, denied any wrongdoing. “We only tell students about important questions that are likely to be asked in the exam,” he said, claiming his was the number one channel for Haryana board exams.

Education minister Mahipal Dhanda said the matter was being examined. “The YouTube channel is being probed. We will take all necessary action if the channel’s owner is found guilty,” he told TOI.

Pre-board examinations are held simultaneously across Haryana, with question papers drafted by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT). The papers are sent from districts to blocks and then to schools, which receive them a day before the scheduled exam. According to rules, the papers are to be opened only at the examination centre on the day of the exam and in front of students.

Prof Pawan Kumar Sharma, the chairperson of Haryana Board of Secondary Education, said he had spoken to SCERT joint director Sunil Bajaj to verify whether there was a breach and urged him to initiate an investigation through the local district education officer and the Mahendergarh police chief.

“Officials have been asked to question the channel’s owner and alert all education officers across the stateto maintain integrity ahead of the board exams. The issue would also be brought to the CM’s attention,” he added. Prof Sharma warned that such incidents “can undermine the credibility of the examination system”. The Class 12 pre-boards began on Jan 22 and are scheduled to end on Feb 5, followed by practical examinations. The board exams are scheduled to begin from Feb 25.

Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals.

Subscribe to Newsletter to get latest insights & analysis in your inbox.

All about ETEducation industry right on your smartphone!