A file photo of the command centre of the Karnataka Examinations Authority.
| Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR
In yet another instance of exam mismanagement, during the recent Civil Police Constable Recruitment Exam conducted by the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) in Karnataka, 141 Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets were found missing from an exam centre at Tikota in Vijayapura district.
This is the same centre where some candidates alleged that the serial numbers of the OMR sheets and the question papers did not match. Some of these students held a protest and left the centre jumping off the compound wall, and now it turns out with the OMR sheets.
The KEA sent 432 OMR sheets and question papers to Sri Sharandamba Arts, Commerce, and Science Pre-University (PU) College Examination Centre in Tikota. However, after the examination, the centre returned only 291 OMR sheets. There was no information about the remaining 141 sheets nor there was information from the examination centre staff regarding whether all the missing OMR sheets were taken by the candidates themselves.
The KEA has now written to the Vijayapura district authorities and the principal of the college, seeking a detailed report in this regard. It said this incident had cast a doubt on the examination process at the centre.
The KEA conducted a State-wide recruitment examination on August 2, for the direct recruitment of 3,395 Residual Parent Cadre (RPC) and 596 Local Cadre Police Constables (Civil) for the Karnataka State Police Department and such issues cropped up only at this particular centre. The KEA had then clarified that the serial number on the question papers and the OMR sheets need not match.
Potential misuse
The KEA has expressed concern that some miscreants may misuse the missing OMR sheets.
“Whether the OMR sheets are used or unused, we dispose of them properly. If they are lost, they can be misused in many ways. We need to retrieve all the used and unused OMR sheets. An inquiry should be conducted to determine how many are missing and who took them,” said H. Prasanna, Executive Director, KEA.
He also said that those who created a ruckus in the examination centre should be banned from further examinations. “Appropriate legal action will be taken against the guilty based on the report submitted by the Deputy Commissioner,” he said.
Published – August 16, 2026 06:28 pm IST
