Assam CM Announces 4 Hour Shutdown Of Internet Services To Curb Malpractices During Exams

During a virtual meeting with deputy commissioners and other stakeholders, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the mobile internet services would be blocked for four hours on August 21 and 28 to curb any form of malpractices in the conduct of the government exams.

Sarma said that he did not want to take any kind of risk after previously reported cases of cheating during government exams and would want the rightly deserving ones to secure the Grade III and Grade IV posts. The exams observe lakhs of students turning up annually.

CM Expresses His Apologies Beforehand

In order to ensure smooth conduct of the recruitment exams for the government jobs, the Assam CM had announced that the mobile internet connections would be disconnected for the duration of the exams on both days. The exams are being conducted as a part of the drive that promised to provide 100,000 jobs within the first tenure of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if they were able to return to power in Assam. Exams that are going to be held on the 21st and 28th would recruit about 30,000 to the Grade III and Grade IV posts.

The exam centres are expecting a turnout of about 14,30,337 registered candidates in one of the state's largest drives in 25 out of 35 districts. On August 21, the exam would be held between 10 am to 12 pm and again from 2 pm to 4 pm, and the same timings would be scheduled for August 28 as well.

Based on Sarma's directions, all officers would adhere to the Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) to maintain a transparent and foolproof mechanism for recruiting competent youth. One nodal officer would be appointed in each 25 districts, and gazetted officers would be assigned as observers to ensure the SOPs are implemented appropriately. Apart from them, there would be assistance from the sub-inspector level police officers and other personnel. All officials have been directed to bar candidates and invigilators from carrying any form of electronic gadgets into the centre. Furthermore, two videographers would also be engaged at the centres to ensure fair conduct of the exams by recording the entire process.

As per the regulations, once a candidate completes the exam and leaves the centre, they would not be permitted to re-enter in that particular shift. District police chiefs have been requested to keep their intelligence network active in the centres to ensure all the security systems are functioning.

Sarma added that there would be no disruptions in the wired internet, and only the mobile internet would be shut down to avoid incidents such as getting the question paper leaked on WhatsApp. "I would like to apologise to the public for the inconvenience", added Sarma.

The Northeast Now has also reported that another exam specifically for the recruitment of drivers to state government departments has been scheduled for September 11. However, decisions in regard to the internet shut down on that day have not been finalised.

Past Instances Of Exam Irregularities

In the past, the state has faced instances where papers were leaked through Whatsapp prior to several important exams to civil posts. The Government was forced to cancel written exams to recruit over 500 sub-inspectors to the state force after the question paper was leaked and a huge exam scam was uncovered.

The scam was reported from 24 different centres of Assam, and probing into the issue further led to the recovery of huge amounts of money. The following month was raging with political debates and scores of arrests. Keeping this in mind, the Assam CM ensured that necessary steps were adopted to avoid a recurring scenario of candidates cheating their way to government jobs.

However, Assam is not the only state that has implemented such stringent measures to ensure fair conduct of examinations. The state of West Bengal has installed internet jammers and CCTV cameras around institutions to ensure that those who take the exams do not engage in malpractices. The NEET exams conducted in Kerala were in the news for a while for asking candidates to remove their undergarments as an anti-cheating measure.

Institutions in Karnataka went a step ahead in 2019 by forcing students to wear cardboard boxes over their heads with just one side cut open to have no one cheating in their exams.

This year, the Rajasthan Government also suspended mobile internet and text messaging services during the state's teacher recruitment exams after it was revealed that the question paper of the Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers (REET) was leaked from the education department office and sold for more than one crore in cash. The Rajasthan Assembly then passed the Rajasthan Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Bill, 2022, to deter the use of unfair means in public examinations.

As reported by The Print, cheating was made punishable by law and could attract imprisonment from five to ten years and fines ranging from ₹10 lakh to ₹10 crore.

Cheating Turning Into A Widespread Practice

From smuggling notes to exam halls to implanting skin-coloured Bluetooth devices, candidates and students have known to adapt malpractices to the growingly stringent regulations in exam halls.

Just the previous year, about ten students were arrested for attempting to cheat in the trainee-teacher exams by concealing Bluetooth gadgets in the soles of their sandals. Further investigations on the same revealed that at least 25 such students had purchased similar footwear from a racket for about ₹600,000.

A report by The Economist analysed this scenario rightly by stating that India's exams are plagued by cheating.

Among them, question papers have had an infamous history of being leaked via Whatsapp despite being confidentially kept locked at police stations or government offices. Right before the exam season kicks off in the country, Facebook and Whatsapp groups are flooded with offers of guaranteed academic success, with the designated tagline being "Get leaked questions and answers before your upcoming exam".

Often parents, too, get involved in this illegal practice and have passed on answers to their children to ensure they make it through the crucial exams. In 2015, about 750 children and many parents were arrested on the charges of cheating on the exams.

Without a proper reform in the way examinations are approached and malpractices are dealt with, this cycle of cheating and cutting networks to curb it would continue.

Also Read: Gujarat: Student Sticks Rs 500 Note To Answer Sheet To Bribe Examiner, Gets Suspended For A Year