The Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) has launched a new online system with the assistance of the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) to stop recurring incidents of paper leaks.
As per details, all the previous data of questions in the PPSC system has been replaced with a new database on the directives of the Punjab government.
Rigorous standard operating procedures (SOPs) have been prepared for the officers and employees, under which no one will be allowed to carry storage devices inside the premises of the PPSC office to avoid data theft.
The duty roaster for employees and officers has also been changed significantly. PPSC said that additional measures would be taken to ensure secrecy with the assistance of PITB.
The development comes after multiple complaints of paper leaks rocked the provincial agency for competitive exams.
In March last year, the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab had arrested seven suspects in connection with a paper leak case.
Those arrested included a consultant of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Fahad Ali, a Regional Director of the PPSC from Bahawalpur, Furqan Ahmed, a Junior Data Entry Operator at the PPSC, Waqar Akram, an employee of the Finance Department, Ghazanfar, an MPhil scholar at the University of Punjab, Gohar Ali, and another individual, Mazhar Iqbal.
According to a spokesperson for the PPSC, the suspects had taken a bribe of Rs. 800,000 to leak each question paper.
“The four arrested gang members have confessed that they not only leaked the question papers of the test for tehsildar’s posts but also of previous papers for the posts of inspector and ACE assistant director, lecturers in chemistry, education, etc.,” the spokesperson had added.
