Madhyamik test papers unwilling to leave home

 Madhyamik Examination is scheduled for 25 February

KOLKATA, 3 JAN: Around one lakh test papers of the Madhyamik Board are lying stacked as both the board and the publishers are passing the buck to each other for distribution.

This year's Madhyamik Examination is scheduled for 25 February. While the test papers will be in demand, it is feared that a large number of copies will be wasted unless they reach the candidates on time.

This was the first year that the board which conducts Madhyamik Examination brought out test papers containing question papers of the selection test of 88 schools, including the government schools. But the “tug of war” between the board and the publishers over distribution of the test papers is a setback, according to some academics.

The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education gave the tender of publishing at least 500,000 test papers to Suhrid Barga Cooperative Offset Printing Press Limited, a syndicate of a number of publishers.  

It was decided in the MoU that the responsibility of printing and distribution and sales will be entirely on the publishers. But the publishers were not willing to publish 500,000 copies. Instead, they advised to publish 300,000 copies. But the board insisted on 500,000 copies as it has been a “dream project” of the state government to curb the monopoly of the test papers brought out by Left-backed teachers association, the All Bengal Teachers’ Association.

“The publishers asked the board to take up the responsibility of distributing the 200,000 copies which they did not want to publish. But the board initially rejected it. Talks are still on between the two parties. It is unfortunate that so many copies are lying useless even 20 days after the test papers were launched. And the test papers will become useless after a month,” said a source in the board.

The officials of the board refused to comment. A publisher of the cooperative said: “The board has a number of sales counters in the state. If they take the responsibility, distribution will be easier. Since, we do not have much time left, the board is also reluctant to take the risk but talks are on.”

Last year the state government decided to bring out test papers for Madhyamik Examination through the board. But the then president of the board, Professor Chaitali Dutta, refused to carry out the project.

Subsequently, when the term of the board was over and superseding it the  state government appointed an administrator. “It was to please the minister that the administrator agreed to bring out the test papers. But the project ultimately ended up in a fiasco as scores of copies are still waiting to be distributed.”

-SNS