Question paper leaks are not a new phenomenon in India. In fact, question papers leaks and the use of unfair means for cracking competitive exams or those which provide government jobs are an age-old menace. They have, over the years, led to widespread anger as social media became an avenue for candidates to vent out and express their frustration.
Question leaks are not an ordinary issue. They disrupt the entire examination process, leading to cancellations or indefinite delays. Some exams also get held up as the courts become a party to the problem of paper leaks. What is worse is the fact that paper leaks are carried out almost as an organised crime, with sophisticated gangs running networks across states for the same.
Soon, paper leaks will become a thing of the past as the Modi government arms law enforcement agencies with a stringent law to eliminate the menace. On Monday, February 5, the Centre will introduce a legislation titled the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, which seeks to address the problem of unfair practices in various examinations, including central agency competitive exams and university exams.
The Bill proposes minimum three to five years of imprisonment for petty paper leaks. However, for cases of organised crimes, the Bill proposes imprisonment of 5 to 10 years apart from a minimum fine of Rs 1 crore. For service provider firms in examinations, a fine of up to Rs 1 crore has been stipulated and recovery of proportionate cost of examination has been proposed as punishment. The firm will also be barred from conducting public examinations for four years. However, the new law will provide protection to the candidates and not hold them liable for paper leaks.
For institutions involved in organised crimes, the Bill stipulates a fine not less than Rs 1 crore, apart from attachment and forfeiture of property, and recovery of proportionate cost of examination. Under the provisions of the proposed law, the government plans to establish a High Level National Technical Committee.
This committee will look into developing protocol for insulating digital platforms and devising ways for making the IT security system airtight. This will aid in securing especially those examinations that are computer-based. At the same time, the high-level committee will ensure comprehensive electronic surveillance of the examination centres.
Among the examinations that are likely to come under the purview of the anti-paper leak law by the Centre are ones conducted by UPSC, SSC, RRB and other government agencies besides entrance tests like JEE, NEET and CUET. All the computer-based examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) will come under the purview of the Bill.
Importantly, the move to have a powerful law to eradicate the menace of paper leaks comes barely three months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in October last year, slammed the then Congress government of Rajasthan, saying the “paper leak mafia” has ruined the future of lakhs of youth in Rajasthan and that they are demanding justice.
So far, there was no specific law at the national level to deal with unfair means adopted or offences committed during the conduct of Public Examinations. Paper leaks remain a big issue for Indian students, who have suffered as a result of examination delays and cancellations repeatedly. These have led to discontent within the student and larger youth community. Students often take to social media to vent their anger against repeated paper leaks and associated disruptions. The new law will go a long way in minimising question paper leaks and preventing examinations from being disrupted.
Paper Leaks: A Mass Problem That Needed Fixing
Narendra Modi has sought to project the youth as one of his core constituencies. The youth forms one of the four castes identified by Modi ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, with the other three being women, farmers and the poor. The lure of a government job in India remains high. Securing these jobs is not easy, primarily due to the small number of openings and the rather large number of applicants.
Examinations are seen as a broad leveller, which result in those with merit getting chosen, after all the reservation-based adjustments of course. Same is the case with competitive exams to get into the best institutes of the country.
However, if the stress of examinations was not already enough, plenty of youth also had to carry the added burden of their career trajectory and timelines getting disturbed due to paper leak gangs and organised crime syndicates. With the new law coming into force soon, those who engage in paper leaks and promote unfair means during examinations will need to constantly watch over their shoulders.
If they are caught, which they will be as systems are strengthened using the law, they will have to pay extremely hefty fines and spend years in prison. The fear of law will finally prevent people from sabotaging entire examinations. The law will also go a long way in institutionalising merit as the only parameter for success, as various unfair methods of clearing examinations are eliminated using the new law.
The problem of paper leaks is more pervasive in some Indians states that it is in others. Rajasthan has especially emerged as one of the hotspots of paper leaks in the country. Last month, the state’s assembly was informed that a total of 615 accused have been arrested in connection with 33 cases of government recruitment paper leaks registered since 2014. Between 2018 and February 2023, at least 12 recruitment drives were cancelled in Rajasthan owing to paper leaks.
According to estimates, in the seven years up to 2023, more than 1.5 crore students were affected by the numerous paper leaks across various states. According to data, there have been more than 70 cases of question paper leaks in the country between 2016 and 2023.
The Common Eligibility Test (CET) for Group-D positions in Haryana, the recruitment exam for junior clerks in Gujarat, and the constable recruitment examination in Bihar were some of the tests cancelled last year due to the leakage of question papers.
In fact, the pressure from the public had forced the Congress government of Rajasthan to amend the Rajasthan Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act to raise the maximum penalty for the offence to life imprisonment. Other states that have enacted anti-paper leak laws include Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
In 2018, CBSE high-school question papers were leaked, forcing close to 16 lakh students to write the examinations again. Similarly, one of the iconic cases of unfair means being employed was in 2015, when around 300 people were arrested and 750 students expelled in Bihar after parents and friends of students were photographed climbing school walls to pass on answers during school exams.
With stringent penalties and a focus on digital security, the law proposed by the Modi government aims to restore integrity to the examination process, fostering a fair and merit-driven system across the country. Finally, a longstanding challenge is being addressed at a national level, and it is sure to instil confidence in aspiring candidates and ensure a level playing field for all.