LAHORE   -  Punjab Education Minister Rana Si­kandar Hayat Sunday claimed that he has received threats and offers by the paper cheating mafia for instigating action against cheating in matricula­tion exams. Punjab Education Minis­ter Sikandar Hayat said that he will not let Punjab become Sindh and Ka­rachi, 30 people have been arrested so far, including big names involved in the cheating scandal will be ex­posed soon, he added.

Hayat said that they are tightening the circle around the mafia through the arrested persons, the advance booking of Monday’s mathematics paper has also been carried out, the private school mafia has also bought the centers to facilitate their stu­dents, the examination centers have been booked for 80 thousand rupees each. There is evidence that entire centers have been booked for cheat­ing, he informed. He said that the rate of the paper was between 4 thousand to 7 thousand, the invigilators had posted messages on social media about the fee per paper. The Provin­cial Education Minister said that the suspension of the Chairman Board for failing to maintain transparency was just the beginning, the Chairman Board, Controller of Examinations was also in league with the cheating mafia, the Controller of Examinations allowed private people to fill invigila­tors. He said that an organised group is involved in the buying and selling of papers, no one tried to lay hands on this group in the past, this mafia was not being caught by anyone, but now Maryam Nawaz has taken a stand against malpractice. Including pri­vate schools, paper mafia is present in every district, mafia is so powerful that even the examination controllers were appointed at their will.

The Minister of Education said that 70 superintendents and deputy superintendents were brought from Sheikhupura and appointed in La­hore during papers. It is surprising that they were intermediate pass in­dividuals were placed to take the Ma­triculation exams.