Across the vibrant towns and serene villages of Andhra Pradesh, education holds the promise of a brighter tomorrow for millions of students. This year, 10,58,893 intermediate learners and 6,49,984 tenth-class hopefuls pinned their aspirations on public exams, crucial stepping stones to their futures. Yet, under Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s leadership, a wave of question paper leaks has swept through the state, jeopardizing years of effort and trust. For students and their families, the system they relied on feels increasingly like a house of cards.
A Spate of Betrayals
Just last week in YSR district, the tenth-class mathematics paper appeared on WhatsApp, a scandal that unraveled when police nabbed nine suspects, including teachers and a water boy, at Alladupalli Cross in Khajipeta Mandal. Operating out of Valluru ZP High School, the group had transformed an exam hall into a cheating operation, crafting crib sheets from a pilfered paper. Days earlier, on March 10, the B.Ed. exam paper from Acharya Nagarjuna University (ANU) leaked hours before testing began across 63 centers, leading to the arrest of five individuals tied to a private college in Vinukonda. These breaches are not anomalies; they echo a troubling legacy from Naidu’s earlier terms, leaks in 1995, 1997, 2017, and 2019 that hint at a recurring failure to safeguard exams.
Voices of Despair
For students like Priya, a tenth-grader in YSR district, the betrayal cuts deep. “I burned the midnight oil for months,” she says, her voice faltering. “Now it feels pointless.” Her mother, Lakshmi, a daily laborer, shares her despair: “We believed the government would give her a fair shot. Instead, they’ve toyed with her dreams.” Parents and educators statewide voice similar dismay, contrasting the current chaos with the stability of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s prior administration. “Under Jagan, exams ran like clockwork, no leaks, no scandals,” recalls Ramesh, a retired principal. “Today, it’s a free-for-all.”
A Tale of Two Regimes
Critics pin the blame on Naidu’s coalition government and Education Minister Nara Lokesh, dubbed “Chinna Babu,” accusing them of dismantling Jagan’s transformative education reforms. Where Jagan fortified the system with airtight processes, the current regime is faulted for lax oversight. Beyond leaks, the cracks show in printing mistakes, rampant copying, and a syllabus some say caters to corporate colleges. In Srikakulam’s Kuppili Model School, malpractice flourished unchecked, while in Mangalagiri, mere steps from Lokesh’s home, intermediate exams were marred by mass cheating.
A System Rigged for Failure
The statistics are stark. Of 1,535 intermediate exam centers this year, over 300 were “self-centers,” where schools graded their own students, a breach of protocol ripe for abuse. More than 800 tenth-class centers followed suit. In districts like Nellore, Anantapur, Chittoor, and YSR, institutions like Narayana, notorious for past leaks, operate with impunity. A 2019 tenth-class leak in Kurnool under Naidu’s watch went unaddressed, setting a precedent that lingers.
Chaos in the Classroom
The toll on students is heart-wrenching. On March 5, second-year intermediate students tackled an English paper riddled with typos, costing them 25 minutes as invigilators fumbled for fixes. On March 15, a chemistry exam shifted midstream, leaving students reeling. “We studied one set of topics, but the questions were foreign,” says Anil, a Vijayawada student. “It was like the system wanted us to fail.” Srinivas, a parent whose son sat for the ANU B.Ed. test, fumes: “They can’t even print papers right. Our kids are collateral damage.”
A Hollow Response
Official responses have been lackluster. Police have rounded up suspects and confiscated phones, but the underlying issues fester. Teachers, squeezed by education officials to deliver perfect pass rates, admit to cutting corners, some even supplying cheat slips. “They demand 100% success for their headlines,” confides a Kamalapuram teacher, requesting anonymity. “When leaks happen, we’re the scapegoats.” Meanwhile, the Education Department’s erratic moves, stalling teacher transfers, piling on last-minute paperwork, have sapped classroom morale, leaving students adrift.
A Lost Golden Age
YS Jagan’s era, by contrast, shines in memory as a beacon of reliability. In 2022, his administration quashed a leak attempt by Narayana institutions, jailing 12 culprits, and executed recruitment exams for 1.30 lakh government posts with unmatched clarity. “Jagan gave us a system we could count on,” says Saraswati, a Vijayawada mother. “Now, it’s falling apart.”
A Plea for Redemption
As Andhra Pradesh wrestles with this unraveling crisis, a pressing question looms: who will rebuild a system meant to nurture its youth? For Priya, Anil, and countless others, the stakes are personal, their ambitions, once etched in study notes, now teeter on the edge of oblivion under a government that’s lost its compass.
