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Karnataka to monitor social media to prevent question leaks for SSLC, PU exams

Question papers were leaked on social media during the preparatory examination in January, leading to the arrests of eight people.

2 min readBengaluruFeb 18, 2026 03:23 PM IST

School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa addresses a press conference on Tuesday. (Express photo)

With concerns lingering about leakage of question papers, Karnataka’s school education department has announced that it will monitor social media accounts during the Class 10 and 12 examinations, slated to begin on March 18 and February 28, respectively.

School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa gave directions to this effect when he met the deputy commissioners of all districts, chief executive officers of zilla panchayats, superintendents of police, and other top police officials at a meeting on Tuesday.

Question papers were leaked on social media during the preparatory examination in January, leading to the arrests of eight people, including a headmaster, teachers, and students.

After the meeting, Bangarappa told reporters that officials would monitor platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and X. “We will initiate action against those who try to circulate fake question papers on social media. The police department has been monitoring habitual offenders involved in question paper leaks. The examination activities will be webcast in all the centres of the state,” he added.

The Government has reduced passing criteria, reducing the minimum marks for Class 10 (SSLC) from 35 per cent to 33 per cent and from 35 per cent to 30 per cent for Class 12.

For the Class 12 exams, 7,10,363 students from 5,174 pre-university (PU) colleges have registered. Of them, 2,92,645 students are in the science stream, 2,11,174 in commerce, and 1,42,982 in arts. The examinations will be held in 1,217 examination centres.

The Class 10 examinations will be held at 2,871 centres, with a record 9,02,889 students from 15,941 schools registered.

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Bangarappa said exam candidates can travel free on KSRTC and BMTC buses if they produce their hall tickets, adding that free travel arrangements would be made for private buses in the coastal and Malnad regions.

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