HYDERABAD: In a bid to curb mass cheating in SSC examination, the State Education department has proposed to make all invigilators accountable for their exam centres. The Directorate of School Education, in its recent guidelines, has decided to impose stringent laws to prevent students from copying. Accordingly, as per Telangana Public Examinations Act (Act 25 of 1997), it has directed the district and mandal education officers to register complaints against both — the invigilator and the students — if a student is caught cheating.
“Each invigilator, at every exam centre, shall be informed in writing that he/she would be held personally accountable for any copying which takes place at their centres and disciplinary action would be taken against them if students are found copying,” read the guideline. Further, the DEO and MEO will have to submit a detailed report to Director of Government Examinations on action taken to curb mass copying.
“This measure is being taken against mass copying in the state as per the directions of the High Court,” said B Sudhakar, Director of Examinations.
However, he was tight-lipped when asked what sort of ‘disciplinary action’ the teachers would be liable for, and said that it would be ‘as per the law’.Government school teachers, however, are apprehensive about the guidelines and term it a routine affair. Chava Ravi, General Secretary, Telangana State United Teachers Federation (TSUTF) said the latest memo was aimed to scare teachers from colluding with students. This, he said, a lot of times stems from the competition among districts and the pass percentage target set by collectors.
Prior incidents from across state
Last year, two teachers in Mabhubabad district were caught helping a private school by taking photos of the question papers and forwarding the same to the school In 2016, 12 invigilators from across the state were suspended along with six students who were booked for malpractice