HP Jhala, director in-charge of examinations at the university, said the test concluded at 12.30pm on July 20 and he received a complaint regarding the alleged paper leak later that evening.
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“We have received a complaint about an alleged paper leak. Some of the questions asked in the examination are alleged to have been circulated in some groups and marked as important questions. We will investigate whether there was any irregularity and whether the allegations are true,” Jhala said.
He said an inquiry committee would be constituted to examine the allegations. The university is continuing with the ongoing examination schedule, and no irregularities have been reported in any of the examinations conducted since July 20, he added.
University officials said appropriate action would be taken in accordance with the rules if the inquiry establishes the involvement of any official, employee or any other person. Examinations in the remaining subjects are continuing as scheduled for students from around 20 to 25 Ayurvedic colleges affiliated with the university.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh raised the issue on X on Monday, alleging that Gujarat had witnessed 34 paper leaks between 2014 and 2024.
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“Another day another paper leak – this time in the Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar. This is not an exception. Gujarat has witnessed 34 paper leaks between 2014 and 2024. The GPSC chief officer’s paper in 2014, Talati paper in 2015 and 2016, the TAT-Teacher paper, Mukhya Sevika paper, Nayab Chitnis paper and Lokarakshak Dal paper in 2018, the non-secretariat clerk exam in 2019, the head clerk, DGVCL vidyut assistant and sub auditor exams in 2021, the Forest Guard exam in 2022 and the junior clerk exam in 2023 were all leaked. Even the infamous UP police recruitment examination leak of 2024 was orchestrated from Ahmedabad,” Ramesh wrote on X.
“Gujarat under the BJP has become the ‘epicentre of all paper leaks in India’. The Modi government’s fast-track courts are not a solution to this systemic issue. It is a diversion. We need a larger and more honest conversation on how to reform our examination and education system,” he added.
The university, however, said it has not concluded that the question paper was leaked and maintained that the inquiry would determine whether any breach of the examination process had occurred.
The allegations come amid heightened scrutiny of examination paper leaks following nationwide protests over irregularities in competitive examinations, particularly the NEET-UG paper leak. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on July 25 following the protests, with his resignation being one of the protesters’ key demands.
Gujarat enacted the Gujarat Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2023 following a series of paper leaks in government recruitment examinations. The law provides for imprisonment and fines for offences involving unfair means and organised examination malpractices.
