National exams in turmoil after papers leaked
Picture of the alleged leaked Mathematics paper.
Solomon Islands national exams are in turmoil after exam papers were allegedly leaked days before the exams took place.
Pictures of leaked exam papers surfaced online yesterday and today and have sparked a wave of public criticism centered on the Ministry of Education.
The photos of the alleged exams papers were believed to be only Mathematics paper for form 5, which student sat today.
It was also believed the leaked exam papers were from schools in and around Honiara.
In separate case, some schools in Malaita province also reported they had not received some exam papers.
A teacher from Nanakinmae in the Kwaio region, Robert Maenalamo, said form 3 students did not sit their Mathematics exam this morning, as no exam papers were given to them.
Mr Maenalamo said they only received English exam papers and other surrounding schools have also encountered the same problem.
“One of our neighboring school did receive their grade 6 English paper,” he said.
“Other schools have excess in the number if exam papers, while other are short of exam papers.”
He blamed the printers contracted by the Ministry of Education for the leaking of the exam papers, and said there should be tough measures on how the papers are issued.
Some experts believe the main reason for the leakage could be the fact that the printing of exam papers was outsourced to private printers, and although there was an agreement for security, it could not be guaranteed.
Last month, Pacific Printers, who were engaged by the Ministry of Education for the printing of exam papers, failed to meet the deadline resulting in the delay of the exams.
In response, the Ministry of Education have confirmed they were aware of the leaked papers.
Director of teaching and learning Linda Wate said they had received reports of the issue, and are working on finding the cause.
“At this stage, the examinations will continue as usual and we cannot confirm how the papers were leaked,” she said.
“At this stage I cannot make any further comments.”