Burning of exam papers illegal

Burning of exam papers illegal

BANDUNG, West Java: An expert from the National Archive Office
said the burning by the local office of the Ministry of Education
and Culture of papers from last year's high school examinations
was a violation of procedures.

Rudi Anton said that by law, government agencies must retain
all documents in their possession for at least two years before
they can destroy them. Even then, they must have the approval of
the National Archive Office.

Rudi was giving testimony on Wednesday before the Bandung
State Administrative Court which is hearing a lawsuit filed by a
group of parents against the local office of the Ministry of
Education and Culture. The parents are accusing the education
authorities of fixing the exam results for bribes.

The education office denied the charges but it cannot present
the papers when asked, saying that they had all been burnt.

The case came to the surface in May after results of the
national final examinations showed that many above-average
students were outperformed by average or below-average students,
denying them entry to the best universities in the country. (emb)