Exam Paper Leak (Prevention of Unfair Means in Exams Act 2024)

What are some recent allegations of Paper leak?

• Allegations of RO/ARO exam,2024 –paper leak (conducted by UPPCS).
• Allegations of paper leak in UttarPradesh Police Constable exam in 2024.
• Allegations of CSIR SO/ASO exam getting leaked from Dehradun along with wide spread mismanagement.

Vyapam Scam (2013) :-

• Vyapam, the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, was tasked with carrying out large-scale competitive exams for entry to various technical courses and recruitment to government employment.
• The fraud included 13 separate exams administered by Vyapam.
• Although the premium began from Rs 15 lakh for PMT, it was more than Rs 50 lakh for admission to PG (Medical).
• Since 2010, more than 40 doctors, medical students, policemen and civil servants with links to the Vyapam scam have died in mysterious circumstances.

SSC CGL paper leak Scam 2017:-

Following the paper leak allegations, the Paper I conducted on February 21,2018 was canceled by the Commission on account of ‘technical issues’.

Action taken:

• SSC accepted demands of protesting candidates and had given orders for a CBI inquiry.
• Eventually SSC took following steps:-
• Eventually SSC took following steps:-
• TCS iON Partnership: Collaborated with TCS iON for secure, technology-driven online exam solutions.
• Biometric Registration: Implemented biometric checks (fingerprints, Iris scan) at centers to prevent impersonation.
• Question Paper Randomization: Utilized technology to ensure each candidate receives a uniquely ordered question set.
• Strengthened Invigilation: Increased invigilator presence and stricter protocols to swiftly address exam hall issues.

• Some other convictions:
• Rajasthan Teacher Recruitment 2022 leak(Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) member Babulal Katara was arrested.Police said Babulal Katara handed over the questions to suspended government school vice-principal Anil Kumar Meena for Rs 60 lakh.)
• CBI special court in Hyderabad has sentenced Railway Recruitment Board - Mumbai chairman Satendra Mohan Sharma and nine others to five years' rigorous imprisonment in connection with the leak of exam papers for the recruitment of 1,936 assistant loco pilot 2010.
• Former DAV Public School principal, two others convicted for leaking CPT exam papers in 2007.

Insider Involvement:

• Inadequate digital security enables unauthorized access to exam papers.
• It was seen in the CBSE paper leak in 2018 highlighted vulnerabilities in the digital handling and storage of question papers.Mathematics and economics papers for class 10th and 12th were leaked directly from the official portal with the help of an insider and spread via whatsapp

High Stakes:

• In the AIPMT (All India Pre-Medical Test) leak in 2015, answer keys were circulated using electronic devices.Whereby , students tried to cheat for seats in Medical colleges where otherwise they could only get in on merit . Even if they could get a seat in other medical colleges , that too would have cost them in lakhs.

Lack of Effective Regulation and Oversight:

• The SSC (Staff Selection Commission) exam scandal in 2017 involved allegations of paper leak, pointing to inadequate regulatory measures to ensure the integrity of competitive exams.

Corruption and Lack of Accountability:

• The aforementioned Vyapam scam is also a stark example of corruption, where the systematic manipulation of exam processes was covered up for years without significant early accountability.

Poor Infrastructure and Process Management:

• The repeated leaks in the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) exams over the years have often been attributed to poor management and infrastructure, including instances where question papers were sold openly before the exams.

South Korea - SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) Cancellation:

In 2013, South Korea canceled its scheduled SAT exams nationwide after discovering that questions from upcoming tests had been leaked. The leak was linked to private tutoring centers.

United States - SAT and ACT Scandals:

The United States has seen multiple incidents involving the SAT and ACT college entrance exams. One notable case is the 2011 cheating scandal in Long Island, New York, where students paid others to take the SAT for them.

More recently, the 2019 "Operation Varsity Blues" scandal revealed a complex scheme where wealthy parents paid to fraudulently boost their children's SAT scores and college admissions prospects, leading to widespread scrutiny and calls for reform in college admissions.

Algeria - Baccalaureate Exam Leaks:

Algeria has faced significant issues with its Baccalaureate exams (high school leaving exams). In 2016, the government temporarily blocked access to social media sites nationwide to prevent cheating, after exam papers were leaked online.

Pakistan

• Cheating in public examinations has become a common practice in Pakistan by way of fake ids.
• Burqas and hijabs allow the concealing of identities.

Reason for students running behind Government jobs.

Status of States PCS exams:-

• The UPPCS prelims exam was leaked in 2015.
• MPPSC 2012 Pre and mains leaked.
• Haryana HCS Judiciary 2017 Paper leak
• Orissa OSSC - JE civil exam paper leak.

Defines Public Examination:-

Under Section 2(k), “public examination” is defined as any examination conducted by a public examination authority listed in the Schedule of the Bill, or any “such other authority as may be notified by the Central Government”.

Exams to be covered:

• Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which conducts the Civil Services Examination, Combined Defence Services Examinations, Combined Medical Services Examination, Engineering Services Examination, etc.;
• Staff Selection Commission (SSC), which recruits for Group C (non-technical) and Group B (non-gazetted) jobs in the central government;
• Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs), which recruit Groups C and D staff in the Indian Railways;
• Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS), which hires at all levels for nationalized banks and regional rural banks (RRBs);
• National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the JEE (Main), NEET-UG, UGC-NET, the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), etc.
• Ministries or Departments of the Central Government and their attached and subordinate offices for recruitment of staff” will also come under the purview of the new law.

Apart from these , Such other authorities may be notified by the Central Government.

Unfair Means and Offenses:

Section 3 of the Bill lists the following actions that amount to using unfair means in public examination done for monetary or wrongful gain, include but not be restricted to:

• Leakage of question paper or answer key or part thereof;
• Participating in collusion with others to effect leakage of question paper or answer key; Accessing or taking possession of question paper or an Optical Mark Recognition response sheet without authority;
• Providing solution to one or more questions by any unauthorized person during a public examination; Directly or indirectly assisting the candidate in any manner unauthorisedly in the public examination;
• Tampering with answer sheets including Optical Mark Recognition response sheets.
• National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the JEE (Main), NEET-UG, UGC-NET, the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), etc.
• Altering the assessment except to correct a bona fide error without any authority;
• Willful violation of norms or standards set up by the Central Government for conduct of a public examination on its own or through its agency
• Tampering with any document necessary for short-listing of candidates or finalizing the merit or rank of a candidate in a public examination.
• Deliberate violation of security measures to facilitate unfair means in conduct of a public examination.
• Tampering with the computer network or a computer resource or a computer system. Manipulation in seating arrangements, allocation of dates and shifts for the candidates to facilitate adopting unfair means in examinations.
• Threatening the life, liberty or wrongfully restraining persons associated with the public examination authority or the service provider or any authorized agency of the Government.
• Obstructing the conduct of a public examination.
• Creation of fake websites to cheat or for monetary gain.
• Conduct of fake examination, issuance of fake admit cards or offer letters to cheat or for monetary gain. (prsindia)
• No person or group of persons or institutions shall collude or conspire to facilitate indulgence in any such unfair means.

Investigation:

• An officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police or Assistant Commissioner of Police shall investigate any offense under this Act.
• The Central Government shall have the powers to refer the investigation to any Central Investigating Agency.

Punishment

• Section 9 of the Act states that all offenses under this Act, shall be cognizable, non-bailable and noncompoundable.
• Any person or persons : resorting to unfair means shall be punished with Imprisonment for a term minimum three years which may extend to five years and fine up to ten lakh rupees.
• The service provider : shall be punished with imposition of a fine up to one crore rupees and proportionate cost of examination shall also be recovered from them.The service provider shall also be barred from conducting any public examination for a period of four years.
• The Director, Senior Management or the persons in-charge: of the service provider firm found involved , he shall be liable for imprisonment for minimum three years that can be extended to ten years and with fine of one crore rupees.If a service provider who is engaged to provide “support of any computer resource or any material, by whatever name it may be called” for the conduct of the examination can be fined up to Rs 1 crore, along with other penalties.
• The Bill provides for harsher punishment in cases of organized paper leaks, where “organized crime” is defined as unlawful activity by a group of persons colluding in a conspiracy “to pursue or promote a shared interest for wrongful gain in respect of a public examination”.
• The punishment for organized crime will be “imprisonment for a term not less than five years but which may extend to ten years” and a fine “which shall not be less than one crore rupees”.

Protection to Candidates:

• The Bill is aimed at preventing organized gangs and institutions that are involved in unfair means for monetary gains, but it protects candidates from its provisions.

Establishment of a high-level national technical committee on public examinations:

• The committee is primarily responsible for enhancing the security and integrity of the computerized examination process.
• It will set standards for both IT and physical infrastructure.

Model draft for states:

While the provisions will be binding for central public examination authorities, the bill will serve as a model draft for states.

AMENDMENT TO THE CRIMINAL LAW (AMENDMENT) ORDINANCE, 1944:

Added serial number 6 as An offense punishable under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.

• According to estimates, in the last seven years, more than 1.5 crore students have been affected by the numerous question paper leaks that happened in various states.

• There have been more than 70 cases of question paper leaks in the country in the last seven years, which have affected the future of lakhs of students.

• For the October-December 2023 quarter, joblessness among those in the age group of 20 to 24 grew to 44.49%, and it stood at 14.33% for the age group of 25-29 as per Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) report 2023.

• Bihar Board’s class 10 examination papers have been leaked six times in the past.
• In West Bengal, the State Board examination paper has leaked at least 10 times in the last seven years.
• Tamil Nadu, both class 10 and 12 board examination papers have been leaked in 2022.

Bihar State Education Board Leak (2016):

The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) faced a massive scandal when the Class 10 Science and Class 12 Humanities question papers were leaked. This incident was part of a larger controversy that year, including the infamous "toppers scam," where merit list toppers were found to be unable to answer basic questions related to their subjects.

“Maine to Papa se kaha tha pass karwa dijiye, unhone ne to top hi karwa diya.” Ruby rai , 2016 topper Bihar board.

INTERNATIONAL CASE STUDY:

Western Governors University (WGU) in the United States is a notable example of how online examinations, coupled with robust online proctoring, have helped to maintain academic integrity and reduce cheating.

• WGU utilizes online proctoring services that monitor test-takers through webcams, microphones, and screen-sharing technologies. This allows proctors to ensure that students are adhering to the examination rules from remote locations.
• The university employs secure testing software that locks down the examinee's computer, preventing access to browsers, applications, or files that could be used to cheat during the exam.
• Biometric and keystroke recognition techniques are used to verify the identity of students taking the exams, significantly reducing the risk of impersonation.

Implementational Challenges:

• One of the primary challenges is ensuring effective implementation of the provisions outlined in the bill.
• This may require coordination among multiple stakeholders, including educational institutions, examination boards, law enforcement agencies, and government authorities.

Affects Federal spirit of the Constitution:

• The Bill aims to serve as a model for states to adopt.
• The discretion given to state governments may lead to variations in implementation across different states.This could even lead to center state tussle as well.

Might see opposition from some states:

• Tamil Nadu opposing National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test(NEET) exam

Data Privacy and Breach of Fundamental rights:

• The use of technology for monitoring and surveillance in examinations raises concerns about data privacy and security.

Changing Nature of Cheating:

• Cheating methods evolve over time, driven by advancements in technology and changes in societal norms.
• The bill needs to be flexible enough to adapt to new challenges and address emerging forms of cheating effectively.

Public Perception and Acceptance:

• Public perception and acceptance of the measures implemented under the bill can influence its effectiveness.

Technological Solutions:

• Developing and implementing robust technological solutions while ensuring accessibility and equity for all examinees is a challenge that needs to be addressed.
• Also there is a need to address digital illiteracy in the country.
• Developing and implementing robust technological solutions while ensuring accessibility and equity for all examinees is a challenge that needs to be addressed.
• Pendency of cases in judiciary: may further delay justice.

National Technical Committee lacks clarity:

• Regarding its composition, qualifications, and mandate.

Legal Challenges :

• Pertaining to its provisions on cognizability, non-bailability, and non-compoundability of offenses. This may lead to misuse of power and position.

Establishment of National Testing Agency (NTA):

• In 2013 the MHRD constituted a seven member task force to prepare a blueprint for creating a special purpose vehicle to take up the concept of National Testing Agency (NTA) forward.
• In 2017 an announcement about NTA was made by th e Finance Minister in the budget speech of 2017.
• National Testing Agency (NTA) has been established as a premier, specialist, autonomous and self-sustained testing organization to conduct entrance examinations for admission/fellowship in higher educational institutions

UPSC for the Civil Service Examination:

• Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has launched 'One Time Registration' (OTR) platform on 24x7 basis on the Commission's official website upsc.gov.in and upsconline.nic.in to facilitate the process of submission of applications of candidates to be made convenient.