Exam postponed after questions leaked in India

DUBAI // About 570 students who appeared for the All India Engineering Entrance Examination in the UAE today saw the test postponed by over two hours after the question paper for the exam was leaked in India.

The students had to wait for 2.5 hours to take the exam, which is used to admit students into engineering colleges in India.

The test was scheduled to start at 8am, but actually began at 10.30am to coincide with the timings in India, where tens of thousands appeared for the same exams.

The Indian consulate confirmed the delay in conducting the examination in the UAE, but said the set of questions on the paper given to students here was different from the one that had been leaked in India.

"We have an alternative set of papers for the UAE," the spokesperson said.

The paper leak was detected in the state of Uttar Pradesh and, according to Indian media reports, police have arrested one person after the paper was sold in the open market in the state.

The exams are being held at the Indian High School — the only centre for Indian students in the Emirates who aspire to become engineers and architects. Two sets of examinations are being held on Sunday.

The exam paper from this morning was for admission into the Bachelor of Engineering courses. Its questions pertained to Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.

The afternoon paper, scheduled for around 2.30pm today, will be for more than 80 students who want to pursue the Bachelor of Architecture degree. It will test pupils on mathematics aptitude and drawing.

The exam is conducted annually by the Central Board for Secondary Education, and each year, tens of thousands appear for the exams.

pkannan@thenational.ae