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)