Over a million students and early-career researchers in India have been affected by the recent cancellation or postponement of exams for fellowships or jobs, following the discovery that papers were being sold. Problems with the leaking of exam questions has been a live issue for years and has become a national scandal.
At the centre of this scandal is the National Testing Agency (NTA), an Indian government agency that conducts entrance exams for agencies such as the University Grants Commission (UGC), Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and medical schools.
On 20 June, the education minister Dharmendra Pradhan abruptly announced the cancellation of the UGC National Eligibility Test (NET) exam used to screen PhD candidates, award junior research fellowships and also recruit assistant professors. The tests, held on 18 June, involved over 900,000 candidates across 83 subjects. Unsurprisingly, the decision provoked outrage.
The government said the cancellation followed an alert from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre. The centre said that the paper had been leaked on the dark net and the exam was compromised.
Two days later, the NTA postponed the CSIR-UGC NET exam scheduled to be held on 25–27 June in light of concerns that this exam may have been compromised too. Some 200,000 science candidates in chemistry, earth sciences, life sciences, mathematics and physics were slated to take it.
Tens of thousands of angry students have taken to the streets – despite a heat wave that broke records in some parts of the country – to protest what they believe is collusion between government agencies and officials leaking papers since early May. For many poorer students, these exams offered a way to earn a fellowship, secure a new job and improve their prospects.
Complaints of rigging, malpractice and irregularities have also been made by some of the 2.4 million students who took the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) undergraduate exam on 5 May to try to secure a place at medical school. The results, announced on 4 June, revealed numerous anomalies such as 67 candidates receiving perfect scores – many from the same centre – or marks that were just one or two points off a perfect score – something that was impossible. Several cases were filed at high courts and the supreme court by more than 30 aggrieved students seeking legal redress. The supreme court will hear their cases on 8 July.
Exam papers were reportedly being sold for INR3–6 million (£28,400–£56,800). Police investigations have revealed that, in some cases, people familiar with the leaked papers impersonated students and took the exams on their behalf.
Kavya Makhija, 25, who uses a wheelchair, told The Hindu that she had to travel across New Delhi to get to the UGC-NET exam centre in sweltering heat. On arrival she couldn’t reach the exam hall as it was inaccessible to wheelchair users. Four staff members had to help her and another disabled person had to crawl to reach the hall, she said. Re-running the exams may be simple for the government, but can involve significant hardship for those who take them, she added.
With over 3 million students and their families now affected, the government has acted swiftly. Cases have been handed over to the national crime agency and more than 20 people have been arrested so far, including alleged cheats and teachers and officials accused of leaking papers. The chief of the NTA, Subodh Kumar Singh, has also been removed and a new head has been appointed.
Legislation passed to tackle cheating in exams, but not employed by the previous government, is now being enforced. The new law allows for a three to five-year jail sentence for leaking exam papers or tampering with answer sheets. Offenders will also face fines of up to INR1 million. Companies that run these examinations could be fined up to INR10 million and employees could face jail terms if they are found to have failed to safeguard the integrity of the process.
Simultaneously, an expert committee headed by the former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, has been formed to review the NTA. The committee will engage with students and their parents to hear concerns and aims to build a tamper-proof examination system. It will focus on reforming the examination process, improving data security and the structure and functioning of the NTA.
No comments yet