Hyderabad: Despite stern warnings from the Telangana government about exam malpractices - including a jail term for erring students and teachers - cheating continues in SSC public examinations in Telangana.
Social platforms such as WhatsApp are a handy tool for leaking question papers and forwarding answers to students in the examination hall. More than 25 cases of malpractice, including two related to question paper leaks, have been booked so far in the state. Lawyers and educationists are of the view that the unhealthy competition between private schools, particularly corporate schools, is causing much of these malpractices.
The Hyderabad High Court that recently heard a PIL seeking to curb mass copying and malpractices in SSC and Inter Public Examinations, observed that mass copying will damage educational standards. It also said that parents must change their attitude of wanting their wards to secure more marks by any means.
While directing the state governments of AP and Telangana to install closed-circuit cameras in examination centres in both states, the High Court observed that parents are pressuring children to secure high marks without caring about improving the children’s knowledge, and this has resulted in mass copying. Private schools and colleges are also exploiting the aspirations of people by encouraging mass copying so students get high marks.
Following the directions of the High Court the School Education Department of Telangana installed closed circuit cameras in around 500 of 2,500 exam centres in the state.
The SSC public examinations commenced in the state on March 15. The Telangana police registered cases against 16 teachers, including four government school teachers, for leaking class 10 question papers on WhatsApp groups one hour before the exam in Adilabad district. Parents and relatives accessed the answers and then brazenly went to examination centres and handed over the chits with the answers written on them to the students.
On March 23, police raided a private school in Narnoor in Adilabad district where mass copying was allegedly going on. R. Sarotham Reddy, president of the Progressive Recognised Teachers Union, pointed out that teachers are not the only culprits; parents are encouraging cheating so that their children get high marks. Schools are also complicit as district collectors require 100 per cent pass results in government schools.
