A private school in Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province has been identified in the alleged tampering of Grade 10 examination papers and a suspect linked to this has been arrested and is in police custody.
Secretary for Education Dr Uke Kombra announced this in Port Moresby today following investigations.
He said investigations into this allegation revealed that the sealed exam paper had been cut open prior to the students sitting for the exam.
He said after reports circulated of leaked examination papers, the Department of Education launched an investigation and found that the sealing on the Grade 10 examination paper at the private school was cut with a razor blade and taped afterwards.
“All the examination papers that we send out are sealed with a coloured tape,” he said.
“What has happened is somebody took a blade, cut through the sealed paper and put a sticky tap over it. When the external invigilator gave the papers to administer the exams, he did not realize the incident. But through reports circulating regarding the involvement of the school we found out about it,” Kombra said.
He said when papers from that school were brought back to Port Moresby, they further discovered that instead of having 10 papers in a pack, there were only 9 papers.
He said this is not the first time such incidents have happened painting a bad picture of the country’s education system.
“We regret that this has happened and we will take all measures to make sure that exam papers are safe and secure in the future,” Kombra said.
Kombra said the school will face the full consequences of the law, even if it means having the school deregistered.