Amid pressure from various organizations demanding Assam Education minister Ranoj Pegu’s resignation over the alleged High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) paper leak case, the minister on Saturday stated that the opposition is politicizing the incident.

Speaking to media persons on the issue, Ranoj Pegu said, “I do not understand why the students are protesting. Why should the Chairman of the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) or I resign from our posts? Will the issue settle after we resign? The opposition is trying to politicize the entire issue. They are trying to divert attention from the main case.”

Replying to a query on the Geography paper leak, Pegu said, “SEBA has confirmed that the Geography question paper which has gone viral on social media is fake. Police have identified a person named Masum Ali from Nagaon who had reportedly circulated the question paper on social media. It was a question paper of the year 2021 which has been morphed.”

“Some miscreants are conspiring to disrupt the HSLC examination process. I urge all parents to be aware and not fall prey to false information on social media,” Ranoj Pegu further said.

The education minister further referred to the arrest of teachers who have turned out to be the masterminds of the paper leak incidents and said that teachers’ involvement in the scam is a shame. He said that a proper system has to be implemented to assure that no teacher can get access to question papers before the exam starts.

The minister said, “Discussions has to be made regarding the reforms needed for SEBA. Reformations are made every year in the board. I think reforms are needed in the minds of the teachers who are getting involved in the scam.”

It may be mentioned that several persons including teachers and students were detained during the high-level investigation that was initiated by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) after the scam got exposed earlier this month.

Three teachers namely Pranab Dutta, Prasanna Das, and Kumud Rajkhowa (the mastermind of the scam) were placed under suspension by the office of the district inspector of school after they were arrested for their involvement in the paper leak case.