BANGALORE: The report of the inquiry committee that went into the alleged malpractices in the postgraduate common entrance test (PGCET) for medical and dental courses has said that some of the candidates had prior knowledge of the questions of the examination and the correct answers.

In its report submitted to the Government, the three-member panel said it had made a close scrutiny and critical analysis of the candidates and come to the conclusion that they had prior knowledge of the questions and answers.

In the section titled "modus operandi", the committee said some of the officers/officials involved in the examination work for PGCET-2006 were deputed to Hyderabad, Chennai and Pondicherry to obtain the questions and answers from the question setters.

"A lot of time was spent by these persons even to get half-handed questions. It says an examination process of this magnitude conducted by the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) should be conducted in secrecy and confidentiality as is usual in a common entrance test (CET)," the committee said.

It pointed out that when such examinations were conducted, special officers personally select the question papers and secure the manuscripts/questions and answers in separate sealed covers. Their identity would not be disclosed.

However, in this case, some persons spent nearly a week with the question-setters. Moreover, the sealed covers containing the questions were fed in the computer in the third week of January for preparing a master question bank.

The committee found that several hard and soft copies containing the questions and key answers for the medical and dental examinations were available before the conduct of the examination. The committee said the entire examination process in the RGUHS had become brazen.

It said the route officers and observers of Hubli and Bellary had stayed in private hotels along with the sealed trunks containing the questions papers. They were not accompanied by armed guards or police.

Similarly, no armed guard, police or security was provided for the strong room of the RGUHS where the question papers and key answers were stored.

The panel has come down on the university, saying that it had not proceeded systematically in the examination process.

It said omission and commission, lack of secrecy and confidentiality were found in the examination system.

There appeared to be a motive to somehow bring some candidates to the top rank level.

The committee felt that it was with "the connivance of the higher authorities, the Registrar, in-charge Deputy Registrar in charge of the PGCET and other officials joined hands and hatched a well-knit conspiracy to commit the examination malpractice".

It said: "the PGCET had been conducted in a very poor and shabby manner and with no vision, secrecy, confidentiality and security. Rich and influential candidates got the maximum benefit through leakage of question paper occurring at higher level only."

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