Cambridge leaks: CIE chief executive defends move to repeat exams

Michael O’ Sullivan confirms leak happened outside Pakistan.

LAHORE:

The decision to re-administer the Pakistan Studies and Islamiat exams will uphold the fairness and validity of the qualification, according to Michael O’ Sullivan, Chief Executive of the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE).  

Talking to The Express Tribune in Lahore, Sullivan defended his decision by acknowledging that the situation had not been caused due to any fault of the students. However, he added, the decision to re-administer the exams was the ‘only right thing to do’. Approximately 15,000 students will now re-sit the exams in the coming week.

The controversy surfaced after the CIE announced that it would repeat the examinations for the two subjects following a leak. The news caused quite a stir amongst students in the country with protests being held and a few students threatening legal action.

Sullivan confirmed that the security of the exams had been compromised after investigation revealed a leak. “The leak did not happen in Pakistan,” he clarified, but added that the “leaked information was electronically circulated to [and amongst] students in Pakistan with the consequence that a substantial number of students had seen the material before they sat the examinations”.

He said while the CIE was still unsure of the exact number of students who had been exposed to the content prior to sitting the exam, the investigations revealed that it was a ‘significant’ number.

“Our options were very limited and we had to take this decision, which has caused great disruption, inconvenience and stress to our students, their parents and schools,” admitted Sullivan.

As to why only students in Pakistan were required to re-sit the exams when the leak took place outside the country, Sullivan said there was no significant indication of the contents being communicated elsewhere. “In fact, there are not many students outside Pakistan who are taking these examinations,” he added.



Sullivan, who arrived in Pakistan on Friday, is meeting with staff at The British Council and representatives for schools to allay fears about the impact of the leak on other exams, difficulty level of the new exams in the next week and also in November and exam preparation time.

Talking to The British Council staff, Sullivan said, “We are quite confident the integrity of other exams has not been compromised.” The difficulty of the new exams will be the same as the previous ones held in May. With reports of students and parents threatening to take legal action, the chief executive clarified that the CIE was not facing any legal action against the re-sit.

The ‘fresh’ examinations, as they are being referred to by the CIE, will be held on June 13 and 14 across the country. Students have been given the choice of sitting the exams next week or take these exams later in November with no extra charge. The results will be announced on the same date in August.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2013.