Speaking of paper leaks, let’s understand the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 which was introduced on Monday in Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Personnel and Training Jitendra Singh.
Explained: In recent years, the issue of exam paper leaks has become one of the growing concerns, posing a significant threat to the overall integrity of educational systems. State examinations are held every 2-3 years, but instances of these paper leaks either lead to the cancellation or postponement of these exams. Usually, the phenomenon of exam paper leaks involves the unauthorized dissemination of examination question papers before or during the examination period. These paper leaks usually are circulated through social media platforms – a recent example includes the Madhyamik question paper that went viral in West Bengal. This unethical practice not only undermines the fairness of examinations but also erodes the trust and credibility placed in educational institutions. It’s high time we understand the grip of this problem and act swiftly to ensure that future generations do not bear witness to such incidents.
Speaking of paper leaks, let’s understand the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 which was introduced on Monday in Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Personnel and Training Jitendra Singh.
What is Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024?
On February 5, 2024, a bill – Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 – was introduced in Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Personnel and Training Jitendra Singh. to effectively deter persons, organised groups or institutions that indulge in unfair means and adversely impact the public examination system for wrongful gains.
The bill has stringent provisions against malpractices, including a minimum jail term of three years and a fine up to Rs 1 crore. Students in several states have suffered in the past due to examinations getting cancelled for malpractices including paper leaks. Currently, there is no specific substantive law to deal with unfair means adopted or offences committed by various entities involved in the conduct of public examinations by the central government and its agencies.
The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, introduced by Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh, mentions “leakage of question paper or answer key”, “directly or indirectly assisting the candidate in any manner unauthorisedly in the public examination” and “tampering with the computer network or a computer resource or a computer system” as offences done by a person, group of persons or institutions.
Examination Covered Under Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024
The bill will cover entrance examinations held by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the railways, banking recruitment examinations and all computer-based examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), Singh said.
10-Year Jail Term, Rs 1 Crore Fine: Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024
It proposes a minimum of three to five years of imprisonment to curb cheating and those involved in organised crimes of cheating will face five to 10 years of imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 1 crore, he further added.
The Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 aims to deter such nefarious elements; meanwhile, the sole objective of the bill is to bring in 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 and their future is safe. The bill covers recruitment examinations conducted by the UPSC, SSC, Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs), Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS), NEET and JEE, and the NTA among others. The bill is aimed at preventing organised gangs and institutions that are involved in unfair means for monetary gains, but it protects candidates from its provisions, the minister said.
- The committee shall look into developing protocol for insulating digital platforms, devising ways and means for developing foolproof information technology (IT) security system, ensuring comprehensive electronic surveillance of the examination centres and formulating national standards and service levels for both, IT and physical infrastructure, to be deployed for conduct of such tests, the minister said, PTI reported.
- The bill makes “creation of fake website to cheat or for monetary gain”, “conduct of fake examination, issuance of fake admit cards or offer letters to cheat or for monetary gain” and “manipulation in seating arrangements, allocation of dates and shifts for the candidates to facilitate adopting unfair means in examinations” as punishable offences.
- The bill makes “threatening the life, liberty or wrongfully restraining persons associated with the public examination authority or the service provider or any authorised agency of the government; or obstructing the conduct of a public examination” a punishable offence.
- The bill shall serve as a model draft for states to adopt at their discretion.
- Ministries or departments of the central government and their attached and subordinate offices for recruitment of staff and any “authority as may be notified by the central government” for conduct of government job recruitment are also under the ambit of the proposed legislation.
Note: The bill’s provisions extend to entrance examinations like the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), and the Common University Entrance.