A Step Towards Fair and Transparent Public Exams
To safeguard the integrity of public examinations across India, the government has introduced “The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024” in the Lok Sabha. This comprehensive legislation aims to address and penalize various forms of malpractices, including paper leaks, impersonation, and the use of unfair means to gain undue advantage in examinations conducted for educational and recruitment purposes.
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The Bill, introduced by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh, encompasses a wide array of examinations, including those conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Railways, banking sector, and all computer-based tests overseen by the National Testing Agency (NTA). It specifically targets organized crimes related to examination malpractices, proposing stringent punishments ranging from three to five years of imprisonment and fines up to ₹10 lakh for individuals found guilty of facilitating cheating. Moreover, exam service providers implicated in such offenses could face fines of up to ₹1 crore.
Highlighting the gravity of the situation, the Bill states,
“Several activities have been included within the scope ‘unfair means relating to the conduct of a public examination’ under the Bill.”
These activities include
“leakage of question papers or answer keys, tampering with answer sheets, manipulation of seating arrangements, creation of fake websites to cheat for monetary gain, and conduct of fake exams to cheat, among others.”
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Dr. Jitendra Singh emphasized the detrimental impact of such malpractices on the future of millions of students, noting that
“In the last few years, leaks of question papers and organized cheating had affected the interests of lakhs of students due to cancellation of tests and examinations.”
He further elaborated on the necessity of the Bill, stating,
“These unfair practices if not effectively prevented and deterred will continue to jeopardize the future and careers of millions of aspiring youths of this country.”
The Bill also introduces harsher penalties for those in positions of responsibility who consent to or are involved in rigging examinations, with potential imprisonment of up to 10 years. It addresses the involvement of organized crime in examination malpractices, mandating a minimum imprisonment of five years, extendable to ten years, along with a fine of no less than ₹1 crore for those found guilty.
Importantly, the Bill seeks to protect candidates from its punitive provisions, clarifying that
“a ‘candidate’ as defined in the Bill will not be liable for action under the Bill and shall continue to be covered under administrative provisions of the concerned public examination authority.”
Dr. Jitendra Singh reassured that the objective is
“to bring greater transparency, fairness, and credibility to the public examination systems and to reassure the youth that their sincere and genuine efforts will be fairly rewarded.”
To further bolster the security of public examinations, the Bill proposes the establishment of a “High-Level National Technical Committee on Public Examinations” tasked with developing protocols for a foolproof IT security system for online and technology-based exams. This committee will focus on insulating digital platforms, ensuring comprehensive electronic surveillance of examination centers, and formulating national standards for IT and physical infrastructure used in conducting examinations.
“The Bill shall serve as a model draft for States to adopt at their discretion. This would aid States in preventing the criminal elements from disrupting the conduct of their State-level public examinations,”
the statement of objects and reasons of the Bill notes, underlining the central government’s commitment to maintaining the sanctity of public examinations in India.
