Amid the buzz of paper leak which has been seen in the Hindi heartland , specially in the state of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh , Bihar in the recent past, the discrepancies in the NEET results by NTA has taken the center stage these days.
To which approximately 23 lakh students have appeared. The consequences of paper leak at any exam whether it be competitive exam or recruitment exam , can be analyzed at two perspectives, Micro and Macro level.
On the Micro level, we see the anxiety and wasted efforts by millions of students and their parents, who had invested months, preparing for the exams rigorously only to find out that there was misconduct in the examination leading to cancellation of exam or re-exam. The Macro perspective of this issue is the system losing the credibility , millions of students of this country losing faith in the system as they look it to crack elite colleges for admissions for under graduation or post graduation, or a government job , the youth rigorously preparing for the exams year on year, As government job is seen as only hope among million jobs as stable Job.
At this point we can understand that this issue is multifaceted and hence this should be investigated at muti-dimensions.
- Transportation and distribution: Recently a case was came to light in Uttar Pradesh of police constable recruitment which was canceled as question paper was leaked upon investigation it was found the paper was leaked during the transportation and later stored by the accused at a warehouse.
- Coaching institutes: The potential connections between coaching institutes and individual who have access to the leaked paper should not be ignored
- Data / Communication Security: As the translation to online exams from pen and paper based is in view of reducing risk in printing and distributing. Proper server security , access control and data encryption methods should be implemented.
- Examination Board officials: Investigating any suspicious activity or sudden wealth accumulation among board persons responsible for setting papers.
Although the state government of Uttar Pradesh has passed a law to tackle the recurring paper leak issue as it became the poll issue and political complication as 43 lakh people were impacted.
A Public examination (prevention of unfair means )Bill, 2024, is passed in the parliament. It seeks to prevent use of unfair means in public examinations. The unfair means includes unauthorized access or question paper leak, assisting candidates during exam, and many more. It proposes 3 to 5 years of imprisonment, in case of organized crimes it attracts 5 to 10 years of jail and rupees 1 crore as fine. Aims to bring in greater transparency, form and credibility to public systems. There is a need to prevent criminal elements from playing with lives and hopes of genuine aspirants. This bill is aimed at effectively deterring persons, organized groups or institutions that indulge in unfair means.
In my opinion, I strongly believe that examination bodies should be autonomous and free from Political influence. As efforts will be made by some elements of the government to influence the body to be biased. Stricter actions should be taken against those found involved in the act and the case should be investigated thoroughly so that no further attempts are made to play with the lives of millions of students and adversely affect the future of the country.
Paper leak Issue in India