For decades, India’s public examination system has been highly rated, both at home and abroad. It is regarded as tough, but fair and clean. The proof of the pudding lies in the eating. Thanks to the intensely competitive nature of the public exams at various levels, Indian students have done well all around including cracking the GREs to enter Ivy League universities.
In other words, the examination system in India, a cornerstone of the educational framework, is multifaceted, catering to various stages of a student’s academic journey from school to higher education and even beyond.
Now in the past few years, things seem to have taken a turn for the worse. Public examination papers, once regarded as sacrosanct, are leaking at a pace which the venerable founding fathers of India’s education system could scarcely have divined.
From marquee examinations like IIT entrance tests and pre-medical entrance NEET to mid-term school papers in Punjab to constables’ recruitment in Haryana, no institution appears to be unscathed. Sadly, such leaks are adversely impacting the brand value of some famous public institutions, which in turn is threatening their reputations and the futures of their otherwise meritorious students.
The latest in this chain of disgraceful episodes is the UP Constable recruitment and promotion examination paper leak. On March 6, a dismissed Indian Air Force (IAF) man was arrested by a team of the special task force (STF) of the UP Police, taking the count of those held to three. The exam was held on February 17 and 18 and nearly 4.82 million aspirants appeared for the examinations for 60,244 posts. On February 24, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath cancelled the examination over allegations of paper leak and ordered a retest within six months. Preliminary investigation suggests that the three accused started a gang for rigging various competitive examinations of the armed forces, Coast Guard, Delhi Police, SSC GD and UP Police.
This is just one of the many such scams that are surfacing with alarming regularity. In 2023, a series of paper leak scandals shook the education edifice, spanning Telangana, Maharashtra, Assam and Rajasthan. They span a vast spectrum of the public-school examination system – leaked question papers for SSC and HSC exams, recruitment tests for assistant engineers and teachers in the government.
Amid growing concerns about examination fairness and integrity, there is increasing pressure to overhaul examination protocols, and implement stringent measures to prevent breaches to safeguard the credibility of academic assessments.
With the growth of social media, leaked question papers are posted across thousands of mobile phones in a jiffy. Paper leaks are becoming increasingly common because access to question papers is no longer restricted and passes through several hands while drafting, printing, and transporting to examination centres. Aided by technology, virtually thousands of websites now offer custom-written papers, apparently by 'experts’. It is anyone’s guess as to who these experts are.
In February this year, The Indian Express investigated 41 documented instances of leaks over the last five years in recruitment exams across 15 states, with governments cutting across party lines. The investigation revealed that the leaks derailed the schedules of as many as 1.4 crore applicants, who were vying for a little over 1.04 lakh posts.
In two states at least, paper leaks became a poll issue. In Rajasthan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the course of his election campaign, charged the then Gehlot government of 'selling question papers', while in Telangana, it was the Congress which accused the K Chandrashekhar Rao government of colluding with crooks. In Bihar too, the leaks have led to political heat. In May 2022, over six lakh aspirants were left holding the can after the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) cancelled its preliminary examination after allegations of a leak.
In September 2021, a series of examination paper leaks rocked the country, with the crucial National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) topping the list of infamy. The Rajasthan Police lodged a series of cases when a NEET paper was allegedly leaked in the state capital Jaipur. Eight people, including three students, were arrested for cutting a Rs 35-lakh deal to obtain the question paper. The accused included the administrator of the Rajasthan Institute of Engineering and Technology and two owners of coaching academies.
A petition started by a certain Veronika Park, which hit the headlines then, said, "NEET 2021 exam has not only been leaked in Rajasthan. It was found that it's been leaked in many other states. It's not fair for the students who have genuinely attempted the paper and have practiced throughout the year for the same."
In 2021, the CBI conducted searches at 19 locations in multiple cities, including Delhi and NCR, in connection with alleged manipulation of JEE (Mains) examination held that year. The list is endless and depressing.
It is just as well that the central government has tabled the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill in Parliament which has provision of a 10-year jail term and fine up to Rs 1 crore for those found guilty of malpractices. Such stringent legislation is long overdue.
What is mystifying is that even in this time and age when crooks are using technology to pull off their capers, authorities are not doing the same to stop such leaks from taking place. The administration and logistics involved in managing examination papers is a daunting task, from defining the paper to delivering printed copies at multiple examination centres.
With the use of technology, the examination process can be simplified. A central software or technology can help streamline the process so that each entity can work closely for a better process. By using technology, the process can be automated, reducing the possibility of manual errors and leakage of question papers to the outside world.
Setting of question papers can be done electronically, reducing the time required. Moderators can easily verify question sets without the need for manual intervention. A centralized question bank can be maintained, making it easier to manage and update. Printing and delivering exam papers can be done electronically, reducing the possibility of leakage.
At the end of the day, however, shady middlemen, with political patronage need to be identified and exposed. No racket can be run for long with adequate checks and balances. Unless that happens, mere theorizing would not help.
(Ranjit Bhushan is a senior journalist. These are the writer's views.)